District Guide

Topography and Coastline

Like many other Chilean coastal towns and cities, Viña del Mar consists of two areas: one of winding streets and houses clinging precariously to the hills, while the other, lying between the hills and the sea, is built along the strict formality of the colonial era grid plan. Viña, often called the tourism capital of Chile, has an area of 172 square kilometers and just over 300 thousand inhabitants. From Abarca Cove to Salinas, the resort stretches three and a half kilometers, and includes the beaches of Acapulco, Mirasol and Los Marineros, among others. As well, there are two kilometers of beach in the Reñaca district, which has recently become the new focus of holiday activities, with a wide selection of hotels, shopping centers, restaurants and discotheques.

Only thirty years ago all this land was sand dune and forest, but today it is an important tourist and residential area with new neighborhoods, such as El Jardín del Mar, Las Golondrinas and Los Pinos, sprouting up almost overnight.

To the north of the city is the gastronomic district with restaurants that range from the unassuming Don Chicho to the tres chic seafood eatery Stella Maris.

Facing the mighty Pacific Ocean that rages against the coastal rocks are the popular Cochoa and Lilenes beaches, although recent maps of the area show these as no longer part of Viña del Mar but of the newly-created Concón district. Between these two beaches, a visitor to the city will find many places of interest, such as Mirador Cochoa, la Roca de Lobos Marinos with sea lions basking in the mid-afternoon sun and a spectacular rock outcrop called the Oceanic rock. This coastal stretch finishes in Higuerillas Cove where the exclusive Yacht Club has its home, and the popular Negra and Amarilla beaches are to be found. Narrow strips of the original dunes still remain, down which local children slide on makeshift sand-toboggans.

The City Center

The center is formed in the shape of a rectangle, and bounded by the railway line in the south and the Marga Marga Estuary in the north. Towards the east the Plaza José Francisco Vergara can be found, and to the west the wooded, gently rolling Castillo Hill. These are the limits of the main financial and shopping area in the city, whose main street is the Avenida Valparaíso.

Viña del Mar has the slow pace of a provincial town. It is not uncommon to see the inhabitants stop whatever it is they are doing at around midday to have a cup of coffee in one of the many traditional cafeterias to be found here. At two in the afternoon, all the local banks close for the day, and many stores shut for a siesta that lasts until 4:30. When they reopen, however, they serve customers late into the evening.

The city is built on the grid system—locally called "de los nortes"—typical of colonial towns, with Avenida Libertad as its main axis. On the left of the Avenue six streets head off to the west, on the right seven head east. From north to south there are another fifteen streets. This is one of the most sought after residential neighborhoods, with houses that have the spirit of the past stamped firmly in their architecture. Today, many of what used to be private dwellings are now restaurants and pubs.

Climate

The climate is considered Mediterranean, with rains falling only in the winter season. Proximity to the sea means that land temperatures are regulated by ocean currents during the summer (October to March) and winter (April to September) months. The summers are consequently warm and pleasant and the winters mild, with temperatures ranging between 10 and 22 degrees Celsius. The mild climate and lack of morning frost in winter has helped the growth of robust vegetation, including both native and imported species, with such plants as the bougainvillaea, hibiscus and golden thimbles, whose bright petals can often be seen creeping up between railway sleepers.

Access

Viña is 119 kms from Santiago and 75 minutes by car from the capital’s international airport. The main access point is through Agua Santa by Motorway 68 (Ruta 68) from the South. One of the main benefits of taking this road is the spectacular view of Valparaíso Bay, especially at night-time when you are surrounded by the twinkling of lights from houses on the nearby hills and ships anchored in the bay. As soon as you reach the outskirts of Viña del Mar, you will see dozens of residential dwellings dating back to the early 1900s.

Another access point coming from the direction of the interior valley is Camino Troncal, following the railway line, which leads to the eastern part of the city. Regional buses come down route 68 but they take a detour first to Las Palmas, then the area called El Salto, now a bustling industrial sector, and finally to Rodoviario. Along the way are important stands of Chilean palm trees, a species similar to those that once grew on Easter Island. In the Central Valley, the plant is now in danger of following its distant cousin into extinction but despite a strict prohibition, local inhabitants of the shanty towns collect the coconuts the size of a small plum and sell them on the main streets of the city.

Motorway 60 (Ruta 60) is the main road used by visitors coming from neighboring Argentina, passing first through Quillota and Concón. One of the main attractions of this road is the picturesque landscape along the way. This route is also used by those coming to Viña del Mar from the coastal villages further to the north.

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