Laerer Spanks i Santiago de Chile

Santiago, with a population of 5 million inhabitants, boasts some of Latin America's most spectacular infrastructure, such as the Santiago Metro and the advanced freeway systems. Also, Santiago is headquarters to many important companies and is a regionally important financial center.

Located in a valley, a good proportion of the country’s population reside in this capital. Although densely populated, its infrastructure is highly advanced allowing for easy access to all points in the city.

Santiago enjoys a mild Mediterranean climate: relatively hot dry summers with temperatures reaching up to 35ºC (95º F) on the hottest days; winters (June to August) are more humid with typical maximum daily temperatures of 15º C (59º F), and minimum temperatures of a few degrees above freezing.

There are many other things one can do at night in the center of Santiago. Why not simply have a walk along the Paseo Ahumada, where there are many street stalls selling trinkets and treats? At the end of that street, you will come across the recently refurbished Plaza de las Armas. Surrounded by Colonial buildings, the place is full of street painters and musicians who perform all sorts of concerts on the stage.

If you want to whoop it up in Santiago you will have a lot of possibilities. The best days are Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Then it gets pretty lively and huge, buzzing crowds pour into the streets and bars of the nightlife zonas . These fall into three main areas: Bellavista , characterized by its small, informal restaurants and cafés, many of which put on live music after 11pm, usually guitar music, boleros or Latin; Providencia , packed with slick, American-style bars that pull in a huge crowd of professional types, including lots of expats and foreign visitors; and Nuñoa , the heart of Santiago's "underground" scene, where the bars and cafés lining the main square are filled with nonchalant students in ripped black jeans and leather jackets.

Santiago has more than one face. And this is part of its attraction: modern shopping malls on the one hand, and indigenous arts and crafts exhibitions (in the Cerro Santa Lucia) on the other, street performances and juggling outside the Museo de Arte Contemporaneo (Museum of Contemporary Art), and visual art exhibitions in its many galleries and underground stations. Santiago is a city of healthy contrasts between its different areas, with a truly fascinating cultural and architectural diversity.

You can learn Spanish in Chile in the capital (Santiago de Chile):

• Spanish Courses in Santiago de Chile