What's a good 3-day itinerary for Santiago?

Start at Mercado Central by 8:30 AM, before the tour buses park at 10. The iron-and-glass hall, built in 1872, fills with the smell of fish searing over charcoal. Order caldillo de congrio at Donde Augusto for about 9,000 CLP ($10), a milky broth with hunks of conger eel and potato that warms you through Santiago's winter mornings. Resist the waiters at the outer ring pulling you to seats; those stalls charge double for the same fish. Walk 4 blocks south to Plaza de Armas. The Santiago Metropolitan Cathedral, completed in 1800, anchors the west side. Two blocks southwest on Bandera, the Chilean Museum of Pre-Columbian Art opened in 1981. The Andean textile room on the second floor is worth 90 minutes alone. Entry runs about 7,000 CLP ($8). After lunch, climb Santa Lucía Hill. The 600-metre stone path to the summit takes 15 minutes. Barrio Lastarria sits at the base, where wine bars on José Victorino Lastarria street warm up by evening.

Day 2 crosses the Río Mapocho into Bellavista. Start at the Chilean National Museum of Fine Arts in Parque Forestal at 9 AM. Founded in 1880, the collection occupies a 1910 Beaux-Arts hall, and the permanent galleries are free. By 11 AM, walk north across the Pío Nono bridge. La Chascona, Pablo Neruda's Santiago house, sits at Fernando Márquez de la Plata 0192. Entry costs about 8,000 CLP ($9); the audio guide is worth every peso for the ship-shaped living room alone. Lunch at Galindo on Dardignac, a wood-panelled comedor that has served pastel de choclo since the 1980s. One portion costs 7,500 CLP. Take the funicular from the Pío Nono station to the summit of Cerro San Cristóbal at 880 metres. On clear winter afternoons the Andes fill the entire eastern skyline. Mind you, Santiago's winter inversions tend to hold the smog until about 2 PM, so time the ride for after lunch.

Day 3 starts at the Museum of Memory and Human Rights, one stop from Quinta Normal on Metro Line 5. The museum opened in 2010 and admission is free. Allow 2 hours. The ground floor's wall of photographs is hard to look at and harder to look away from. Visitors drop to whispers on that floor. Walk 5 minutes into Parque Quinta Normal afterward to find the Chilean National Museum of Natural History, founded in 1830, the oldest natural history museum in Chile. Take Line 5 to Baquedano, transfer to Line 3, and exit at Irarrázaval for Barrio Italia. Along Avenida Italia, old houses now hold furniture restorers, vinyl record shops, and small restaurants. Lunch at Peluquería Francesa on Avenida Italia 1025, a former barbershop turned bistro. A fixed lunch menu runs 12,000 CLP ($13). Spend the afternoon on Condell and Girardi, where the independent shops cluster tightest.

August is mid-winter in Santiago. Temperatures hold around 10°C during the day and drop to 3°C after dark, with drizzle likely on any given morning. You'll want a rain jacket for the exposed climbs on Santa Lucía and Cerro San Cristóbal. The Metro runs 6 AM to 11 PM on weekdays. Buy a Bip! card at any station for a 1,500 CLP deposit; a single peak ride costs about 830 CLP ($0.90). These three days cover roughly 24 kilometres on foot, mostly flat except the two hills. Wear shoes with tread; the stone steps on Santa Lucía turn slick when wet. Solo-traveler safety scores 5.8 out of 10 (see /research/solo-safety/). Keep phones in front pockets on crowded Metro cars between Universidad de Chile and Baquedano.