Viña del Mar

A week after my day out to Valparaíso, I went to Viña del Mar, a city about two hours away from Santiago. I had had a difficult week, so it was nice to spend a day in a new place to take my mind off things. It's not such a touristic city in terms of sightseeing (the main reason people come here is for the beach), but I found it an interesting place nonetheless.

I also did the Tour4Tips tour here, like I did in Valparaíso. Again, I feel like it was a very good way to see the city.

It was another long walk from the bus station to the starting point of the tour, but I took some pictures on my walk through the city and in the time I had before the tour started.

The starting point of the tour was the Reloj de Flores, a clock made of flowers which was built for the World Cup in 1962.

Then we walked to the Palace of Cerro Castillo, the official summer residence of the president.

After that, we looked at the Brunet Castle, which was built in a French style. It was very impressive to see.

Finally we went to Quinta Vergara, the biggest park in the city. The Viña del Mar International Song Festival takes place in the amphitheatre here.

Overall, Viña del Mar is a very nice city and I enjoyed the tour. I'm not sure I'll have the time to go back there, but I'm glad that I went.