In our Santiago quick guide, we talked about how Santiago is the kind of city that takes awhile to reveal itself, lacking any real landmark attractions outside of the Cathedral and the Plaza de Armas, and the unfinished Gran Torre de Santiago, which will eventually be South America’s highest skyscraper. However, there are so many interesting, if less obvious, charms to Santiago. For example, just down the rushing Maipocho River from the tower, set in a long, wide green space between one of the city’s main avenues, is a sculpture park with dozens of intelligent pieces. The park is subtle, yet, in true Chilean style, impeccably carried out. But we found beautiful stone, wooden and bronze sculptures in every neighborhood throughout the city, not just in the sculpture park, and some of the best were even just along the bike path where we walked the dogs every morning.
Join us on a tour of our favorite sculptures in Santiago – starting at the city’s main square, the Plaza de Armas, where you find this giant carved stone face, a testament to Chile’s Indigenous populations.
I loved this bronze sculpture on the Pedro de Valdivia bridge in the Providencia neighborhood:
Other bronze favorites included the ‘kissing couple’ and the ‘women’s legs’.
A unique sculpture in Santiago’s Bicentennial Park:
The sculptures at the city cemetery’s main entrance are darker:
The Santiago Sculpture Park had some great pieces, like the muscle man hanging from a steal rope and the standing needle:
Another sculpture in the sculpture park:
Throughout the city there are many sculptures of faces…
…and I particularly liked this one:
A fountain with standing figures in Barrio Brasil:
The best animal sculptures included a horse by Fernandero Botero and a dog on Cerro Santa Lucia:
The art in the Providencia neighborhood matched the contemporary vibe in the area:
Other sculptures that caught our attention:
Which one is your favorite? Let us know in the comments below!
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No way I could pick a favorite! These are AWESOME!!!!!!!
Thanks, Andi! I love them all, too 🙂
Amazing, I will go crazy taking photos of all these sculptures. I love how original they are.
Yes, very original! Not just statues of old men 😉 Santiago turned out to be much more artsy and creative than we would’ve thought!
Wow! We’re always telling people that the the price of the airfare to fly to Thailand is worth it just for the fruit alone! i think perhaps the same can be true for Santiago and these sculptures.
What a variety. It’s difficult to choose a favorite really. We really like the woman and the woman’s face as well as the statue on the blue bicycle as well as the bronze sculpture on the Pedro de Valdiva Bridge. Guess we like the lady statues. 😉
Looking forward to your next post! 🙂
Thanks, ladies! The lady statues were our favorites, too 🙂 Women are just prettier, I guess 😉 Oh and I totally agree that the fruit alone are worth the airfare to Thailand… how we miss these tropical fruits!!
Very interesting sculptures. I also like the bronze sculpture on the Pedro de Valdivia bridge. Also the metal ones in the park are also interesting. But all in all, everyone one of them has something to say.
Thanks, Shalu! The bronze sculpture is just gorgeous, isn’t it!! 🙂
Wow! Looking forward to discovering all of these and hopefully some more! Also, nice to see you’ve included a link to the comments at the end of the post…you can now expect me to be commenting every five minutes!
Sam, yes, we appreciated the tip!! 🙂 And I hope you’ll get to see some of these amazing sculptures (definitely head to the Sculpture Park).
Wow, really cool. And the weather looked so nice! I wish we’d seen more of Santiago (damn flu). Someday…
Yes, we had seven weeks of glorious weather and not a single drop of rain! I hope you’ll get to return one day and see more of Santiago!
What a beautifully artistic city! Santiago has always been on our list but its just moved up a couple of notches!
I love these sculptures, so original. And the photos are great!
Thanks, Nicole! It really is an artistic city – so many talented painters and sculptors and also street artists! Well worth a visit for sure 🙂
Ooo, cool post! I really like the one in the park with the people on bikes!
Thanks, Amanda! The people on the bikes were just awesome! It’s actually a huuuuuge sculpture, I don’t think it comes across how big it is.
I’ve never been into this place. Wow, I love their sculptures.
The huge women’s legs is looks nice!
Thanks, Althea! I agree with you – the legs are really nice 😉
I have never seen some of these a lived in Santiago quite a few years ago. Yes, I think Santiago takes a while to reveal herself to the traveler. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Cacinda! A lot of people we met who have been to Santiago were lukewarm on the city – I truly think it needs at least a week or ten days to be fully explored.