Art, science, and literature come together on this walking tour of Valparaíso. We’ll explore the area around Plaza Victoria, home to the Santiago Severín Library, the Cathedral, and the Natural History Museum. We’ll also head up to Cerro Bellavista to visit La Sebastiana, the house museum of Pablo Neruda.
Tour Details
We will meet at the Arco Británico, and from this monument on Avenida Brasil, we will take a short walk to Plaza Victoria. In its surroundings, we’ll find three of Valparaíso’s most important cultural and religious landmarks: the Biblioteca Santiago Severín, the Catedral de Valparaíso, and the Museo de Historia Natural de Valparaíso.
We’ll begin with a visit to the Santiago Severín Library, a true temple of books and the second-oldest library in Chile, surpassed only by the National Library in Santiago. We’ll admire its striking decoration and learn about Severín, a prominent local politician who developed his career in the early 20th century.
Next, we’ll step inside the Cathedral of Valparaíso, consecrated to the Virgin of Carmen and the Holy Spirit. As we explore this Neo-Gothic church, built in the first half of the 20th century, we’ll discuss these devotions and the history of the temple. We’ll then continue to the nearby Natural History Museum, located in the Palacio Lyon. Inside this 19th-century architectural gem, we’ll see an extensive collection of taxidermied vertebrates and invertebrates.
After our visit to the museum, we’ll head to the Ascensor Espíritu Santo, which will take us up to the colorful murals of the Museo a Cielo Abierto de Valparaíso. After admiring these paintings on Cerro Bellavista, we’ll take a short walk to La Sebastiana, the former home of Pablo Neruda, now converted into a museum dedicated to the poet.
We’ll talk about the life and work of the 1971 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate and, finally, conclude this 2.5-hour tour of Valparaíso at the entrance of La Sebastiana.
