5 Best Sights in Santiago, Chile

This dazzling museum has one of Chile's finest collections of contemporary Chilean art and it displays the combined private holdings of Chilean industrial moguls Manuel Santa Cruz and Hugo Yaconi. The building itself is a masterpiece: six gallery levels float into each other in surprising ways. The wood floors and Plexiglas-sided stairways create an open and airy space where you might see—depending on what's on display when you visit—paintings and sculptures by Roberto Matta, Arturo Duclos, Gonzalo Cienfuegos, Roser Bru, José Balmes, and Eugenio Dittborn, among others. Pick up artsy souvenirs from Tienda Mulato or refuel at the café next to the entrance.

The resplendent Pabellón París outside the Parque Quinta Normal grounds houses this interactive museum that teaches the fundamentals of art to children, but the pavilion itself—with its glass domes, Pompeian-red walls, and blue-steel columns—is the real jewel. Designed by French architect Pierre-Henri Picq, it housed Chile's exhibition in the 1889 Paris International Exposition (where Gustave Eiffel's skyline-defining tower was unveiled); the structure was later shipped to Santiago. On weekdays, school groups explore the two floors of reproductions of famous artworks hung at kid-height as well as the virtual reality salon. There are occasional interactive exhibits and workshops, plus an on-site café.

This monastery adjacent to Iglesia San Francisco houses the best collection of 17th-century colonial paintings on the continent. Contained in rooms that wrap around the courtyard are 54 large-scale canvases portraying the life of St. Francis, painted in Cusco, Peru, as well as a plethora of religious iconography and an impressive collection of silver artifacts. Most pieces are labeled in Spanish and English. Peacocks roam the central courtyard.

The elegant Museum of Contemporary Art, set in a classic building, showcases modern Latin American paintings, photography, and sculpture. The museum is run by the art school of Universidad de Chile and isn't afraid to take risks. Look for Fernando Botero's pudgy Caballo (Horse) sculpture out front, and drop in at its café serving gourmet coffee and homemade treats. There is a second location of this museum near Quinta Normal, and a bus-turned-café called Central Placeres or simply La Micro ("the bus," in Chilean slang) parked outside.

Unfortunately, Chile's main fine arts museum now has only a small part of its excellent collection of Chilean paintings on display, confining it to just six small rooms on the first floor. The rest of the museum is given over to temporary exhibitions of varying interest. The elegant, neoclassical building, which was originally intended to house the city's school of fine arts, has an impressive glass-domed ceiling, which illuminates the main hall. Guided tours are available in Spanish only, with reduced schedules in January and February.

Walk through to the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo, housed in the same building.