8 Best Sights in Santiago, Chile

This necropolis in the northern part of the city reveals a lot about traditional Chilean society. Through the lofty stone arches of the main entrance are well-tended paths lined with marble mausoleums and squat mansions belonging to Chile's wealthy families. The 8- or 10-story "niches"—concrete shelves housing thousands of coffins—resemble middle-class apartment buildings. Their inhabitants lie here until the rent runs out and they are evicted. Look for former President Salvador Allende's final resting spot; a map at the main entrance to the cemetery can help you find it. Fifty-minute Human Rights Tours in Spanish run weekdays at 6 pm. General tours are weekdays (except Wednesday) by prior arrangement and last 90 minutes. Two 75-minute night tours are available at 8:45 pm for kids and adults. All tours require online reservations and are either free or cost between 4,000 and 6,000 pesos.

This museum is a powerful testimony to the coup that established the Chilean dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet; the resulting detention, torture, and murder of Chilean citizens; and the country's historic vote to return to democracy. There is a heavy audio-visual component, with moving letters by children about the events of the times. Some images and artifacts here might be challenging for children to process, but it's an important part of Chilean history and arguably the country's best museum. It is just across the street from the Parque Quinta Normal, and there is also an entrance in Quinta Normal metro station. Daily tours in English begin at 11 am, noon, and 3:30 pm; audio guides in several languages are available for 2,000 pesos.

Chile's once-mighty railroads have been relegated to history, but this acre of Parque Quinta Normal keeps the memory alive. Sixteen steam locomotives and four passenger coaches are set within quiet gardens with placards in Spanish and English. You can board several of the trains. Among the collection is one of the locomotives used on the old cross-Andes railway to Argentina, which operated between Chile and Argentina from 1910 until 1971. Guided tours are available.

Don't be put off by the shops selling car parts at the entrance to this intimate neighborhood on the north side of La Alameda between avenues Brasil and Ricardo Cumming. Developed in the 1920s on land belonging to a mining branch of the Concha y Toro family—another branch founded the winery of the same name—the neighborhood has short winding streets spanning out from a central plaza with a fountain and an eclectic mixture of neoclassical, art deco, and Baroque houses, many designed by the same architects who worked on Barrio París-Londres. There is a restaurant, café, and occasional street fairs on weekends.

Inaugurated in 1897, Central Station is the city's last remaining train station, serving the south as far as Chillán. The greenish iron canopy of the station that once shielded the engines from the weather is flanked by two lovely beaux arts edifices. A lively market keeps this terminal buzzing with activity. The grand entrance has a colorful, illuminated carousel and a couple of cafés. As in any busy place, keep a close watch on valuables.

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.

Children can spend a happy half hour at this small science-and-technology museum's interactive exhibits, while adults can peruse its collection of old phonographs, calculators, and computers. A small part of the Museo Infantil's (Children's Museum) collection was also moved to this museum after the 2010 earthquake, and there are exhibits for ages three and up on astronomy and vision.

The National Natural History Museum is the centerpiece of Parque Quinta Normal. French architect Paul Lathoud designed the building for Chile's first international exposition in 1875. Damaged by successive earthquakes, the neoclassical structure was rebuilt and enlarged. There are large dioramas of stuffed animals against painted backdrops, descriptions of wrongs committed against indigenous people, and occasionally, paleontologists working in glass-walled exhibits. The skeleton of an enormous blue whale hangs in the central hall, delighting children of all ages. Exhibits are labeled only in Spanish, but audio guides in English are available.