Shopping in Santiago

Vitacura is, without a doubt, the destination for upscale shopping. Lined with designer boutiques where you'll find SUVs double parked out front, Avenida Alonso de Córdova is Santiago's equivalent of 5th Avenue in New York or Rodeo Drive in Los Angeles. "Drive" is the important word here, as nobody strolls from place to place. Although buzzing with activity, the streets are strangely empty. Other shops are found on nearby Avenida Vitacura and Avenida Nueva Costanera.

Providencia, another of the city's most popular shopping districts, has rows of boutiques. Avenida Providencia slices through the neighborhood, branching off for several blocks into the parallel Avenida 11 de Septiembre. The shops continue east to Avenida El Bosque Norte, after which Avenida Providencia changes its name to Avenida Apoquindo and the neighborhood becomes Las Condes. In this chic district you'll find modern shopping malls filled with hundreds of specialty shops and international brands such as Tommy Hilfiger and Gucci. A stroll down the wide tree-lined Avenida Alonso de Córdova and La Nueva Costanera in Vitacura will take you past lots of exclusive shops.

Bohemian Bellavista attracts those in search of the perfect woolen sweater or the right piece of lapis lazuli jewelry. Santiago Centro is much more down-to-earth. The Mercado Central is where anything fishy is sold, and nearby markets like Vega Chica and Vega Central sell just about every item imaginable. Stores downtown usually face the street, which makes window-shopping more entertaining. Pedestrian streets around the Plaza de Armas are crowded with children licking ice-cream cones, older women strolling arm in arm, and business executives sitting under wide umbrellas having their shoes shined.

Shops in Santiago are generally open weekdays 10-7 and Saturday 10-2. Malls are usually open daily 10-10.

Less »