Vina del Mar

Viña del Mar is Chile's classic seaside resort, and from December to February the city revolves around the sand. Playa Acapulco and Playa El Sol run along the centre, Caleta Abarca sits in a small cove by the flower clock, Las Salinas is the most sheltered and best for children, and Reñaca to the north is the wide, busy beach where young Santiago comes to be seen. Further on, the coast towards Concón adds smaller bays.

The catch is the water. The cold Humboldt Current keeps the Pacific at around 15°C to 17°C even in midsummer, and strong surf and currents close stretches of shore to swimming. Most visitors sunbathe, walk the waterline and take short, bracing dips. Outside summer the beaches are for walking only.

Eating here centres on the Pacific: congrio, reineta, machas and locos, served grilled, in caldillo soup or as ceviche. The coast road to Concón is lined with seafood restaurants and empanada counters known across Chile for shellfish and cheese fillings, and the Casablanca Valley supplies crisp Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. Completos, sopaipillas and onces with tea and pastries cover the casual end.

Beyond that the scene is more resort than food city. The centre and Avenida San Martín have plenty of parrillas, sushi bars and family restaurants that do the job without much distinction, and the more interesting cooking in the area tends to be found next door in Valparaíso's hills.

Viña del Mar was laid out as a garden city for wealthy families from Valparaíso and Santiago, and its sights reflect that. The Quinta Vergara park surrounds the Venetian-style Palacio Vergara, home to the fine arts museum, and Palacio Rioja and the Palacio Carrasco are grand Belle Époque residences. The Fonck Museum is the highlight, with an original Easter Island moai on its lawn and good collections from Rapa Nui and pre-Columbian Chile. Wulff Castle on its rocky point and the flower clock near Caleta Abarca complete a short list.

It is a pleasant afternoon's worth of sights rather than a reason to come, and the deeper historic interest lies in Valparaíso.

Going out follows the season. In summer the city fills with students and families from Santiago on their vacations, and the nights run late in the Chilean way, with dinner well after nine, bars filling around midnight and the clubs in Reñaca and along the coast going on until dawn. The streets around Avenida San Martín and the centre have pubs and cocktail bars, and the Casino Municipal, an Art Deco building on the seafront, adds an old-fashioned resort glamour.

Outside January and February things quieten a lot, and many locals head to Valparaíso's bohemian bars, a short ride away, for more character.

The landscape is a long, rocky Pacific shore backed by dry coastal hills. The Concón dunes, a protected sanctuary of high sand hills above the sea, are a short trip north, and on coastal walks between Reñaca and Concón you can see sea lions and pelicans on the rocks and around the fishing coves, with the headland at Roca Oceánica giving the widest views. The cold, steady swell suits surfing and bodyboarding, but you need a wetsuit.

Inland, La Campana National Park, about an hour away, has trails through native palm forest up the peak Darwin climbed, with views to the Andes on a clear day. The National Botanic Garden sits in a valley on the city's edge. The high Andes and the ski fields are too far for an easy day out.

The best day trip is barely a trip at all: Valparaíso, a UNESCO-listed port city of steep hills, old funicular lifts, painted houses and Neruda's house La Sebastiana, is about fifteen minutes away by the coastal metro. The Casablanca Valley, about forty-five minutes inland, is one of Chile's leading cool-climate wine regions, with tasting rooms along the highway.

Further afield, Neruda's sea-facing house at Isla Negra is about an hour and a half south, the smart beach villages of Zapallar and Cachagua lie north up the coast, and Santiago, with its museums and old centre, is roughly an hour and a half by bus. Beyond these the options thin out.

This is a traditional destination for Chilean families, and children are welcome everywhere, from seafood restaurants to the promenades. Las Salinas and Caleta Abarca are the calmer beaches, the Quinta Vergara park has space to run around, and the moai at the Fonck Museum tends to catch young imaginations. Horse-drawn carriage rides along the avenues are a local tradition.

What it lacks is anything made for children on a larger scale: there is no zoo, aquarium or theme park of note, and the cold water and rough surf mean paddling rather than long swims. It works well as a relaxed beach stay, less well for children who need constant entertainment.

The centre is flat and laid out on a regular grid, so the seafront, the Quinta Vergara and the main shopping streets are easy to walk. The Merval coastal metro runs from Viña along the bay to Valparaíso and inland, and is the simplest way to reach the neighbouring port.

North of the centre it gets harder. Reñaca and Concón are reached by local buses or taxis along a single coast road that clogs in summer, and the wine valley, Isla Negra and the national park need a tour or a hire car. Long-distance buses to Santiago are frequent and comfortable.

Shopping is practical rather than a draw. Avenida Valparaíso is the traditional high street, and several large modern malls near the river and by the seafront carry Chilean and international chains. Craft stalls around the beaches and the flower clock sell lapis lazuli jewellery, copper and woollens, and the weekend fairs along the Marga Marga sell produce and household goods.

There is no luxury quarter or independent design scene to speak of; visitors after crafts and antiques do better in Valparaíso's hills or in Santiago.

Prices are mid-range by international standards and noticeably higher than in much of Latin America. Set lunches, empanadas, buses and the metro are reasonable, while seafood restaurants and wine bars cost about what a Southern European resort would charge.

The big swing is the season. In January and February, and on long weekends, sea-view hotels and apartments fill with visitors from Santiago and cost far more; in autumn, winter and spring the same rooms are much easier on a budget.

The city's name is known across the Spanish-speaking world for one event: the Viña del Mar International Song Festival, held each February in the open-air amphitheatre of the Quinta Vergara, with big Latin pop stars, a competition and a famously demanding audience. Tickets go quickly and the city fills around it.

The rest of the year is modest. The Teatro Municipal hosts concerts, ballet and theatre, and bars occasionally put on live bands, but there is no resident opera or orchestra of note. Anyone keen on theatre or classical music looks to Valparaíso or Santiago.

There is no bathing tradition here: no thermal springs, hammams or public baths, and the cold sea is not for lingering in. Wellness means spas in the larger seafront and casino hotels.

What the city does offer is a slow pace outside the summer rush. Long promenade walks between the beaches, sunset over the Pacific and quiet gardens make it a restful place to spend a few unhurried days, but no one comes for treatments.