Santiago/West and South

Western and Southern Santiago comprises a variety of districts west and south of the downtown of Santiago. If you travel to the city by plane or train, here is where you will end up. One highlight of this part of Santiago is the Barrio Brasil neighborhood.

In addition to the westernmost third of Santiago downtown, the western part of the city is made up of the districts of Cerrillos, Maipú, Estación Central, Quinta Normal, Pudahuel, Lo Prado and Cerro Navia. The west of the city is mostly made up of rapidly growing residential areas. A few decades ago the old town of Maipu was separated from Santiago by agricultural land, now the stretch has been entirely urbanized. One of the main streets of western Santiago, Avenida Pajaritos, is a westward continuation of downtown's main avenue Alameda.

The southern sector of the city comprises the districts of San Joaquín, Pirque, La Pintana, La Granja, San Ramón, San Miguel, La Cisterna, Pedro Aguirre Cerda, Lo Espejo, El Bosque and San Bernardo. It is mostly residential with some industrial sectors. It includes some of the poorest areas of the city, though as of lately also some middle and upper class residential areas have emerged. This is one of the most heterogenous areas of Santiago. Here you can find some of the largest malls of the city, visit wineries and the outdoors of the Maipo river valley.

West
Relatively far out from downtown and with a growing population, transportation has been a problem to and from the western sector of Santiago. Though the extension of the subway in 2011 made it much quicker to get to and from downtown, there are still many residential areas that are only accessibly by bus. Expect congestion during rush hours.

There are also several highways raying out from downtown, catering to those who travel by car.

Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport, one of the main gateways to Chile, is in the western suburbs. It's connected to downtown by private airport buses. Closer to the city core is the main railway station.

South
To the southern part of the city, the most convenient ways to get in is either of the subway lines: line 2 to San Miguel and La Cisterna, line 3 to Macul, Florida and Puente Alto and line 5 to San Joaquin and La Florida. Line 4A connects these lines in San Ramón and La Granja. Going to San Bernardo, the local train is your best choice. Like with the rest of the city, there is a myriad of bus lines, and buses are your best bet to get around for shorter distances.

Interesting neighborhoods

 * Barrio Brasil - Residential district west of the old town, has been turned into a commercial zone.
 * Barrio Yungay - One of the most traditional barrios in the city with varied architecture, associated with artists and culture.
 * Barrios República and Barrio Dieciocho - Nowadays home to university campuses, it used to be the home of the city's wealthy, so there are many beautiful buildings to be seen here.

Buy
Barrio Franklin features workshops, small and large businesses, storehouses, a former slaughterhouse among others. The biggest magnet for travellers are likely the 4000 shops in this barrio; you can find everything from clothes and furniture to antiquities and car parts at low prices. Different types of products are concentrated in different areas. Expect to spend hours and hours here, even if you aren't a shopaholic. Los Persias (fairs) held on weekends are especially popular, but this is also when people selling stolen goods are there. You can get in by the line 2 of the metro, get off at the Franklin station.

Wineries of Maipo
There are many wineries in the southeast of the city, both inside and outside the city borders. Many offer tours to visitors, wine tasting and on-premise restaurants.