Private Santiago City Tour with Cable Car
Description
Discover Santiago on a thoughtfully curated private city tour that combines history, local culture, green spaces, and contemporary life at a relaxed pace. After hotel pickup, explore Santiago's historic center, including La Moneda Palace, the underground La Moneda Cultural Center, Plaza de Armas, and the Metropolitan Cathedral. Continue through the creative neighborhoods of Lastarria and Barrio Italia, where independent cafés, local design, and artistic character reveal another side of the city. Ride the cable car to Cerro San Cristóbal for panoramic views of Santiago framed by the Andes Mountains. The experience also includes a drive through the elegant districts of Providencia and Vitacura, followed by a peaceful walk through Bicentenario Park. Fully private and flexible, this Santiago city tour is ideal for travelers seeking a more authentic and personalized introduction to Chile's capital.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Home to La Moneda Palace, Chile's presidential seat, Plaza de la Ciudadanía is one of Santiago's most important civic spaces. Beneath the square lies the Centro Cultural La Moneda, a renowned cultural venue featuring rotating exhibitions that highlight Chilean and international art, history, and design, offering a deeper perspective on the country's contemporary identity.
One of Santiago's most elegant civic buildings, the Palace of the Courts of Justice has housed Chile's highest judicial institutions since the early 20th century. Its imposing neoclassical architecture reflects the country's institutional heritage and remains a prominent landmark in the historic center.
Santiago's historic main square and the city's founding site, surrounded by landmarks such as the Metropolitan Cathedral and the Municipality of Santiago. Today, Plaza de Armas remains a vibrant gathering place where Chile's colonial heritage and contemporary city life converge.
Located on Plaza de Armas, the Metropolitan Cathedral is one of Santiago's most significant landmarks. Its elegant neoclassical architecture and richly decorated interior offer insight into Chile's religious traditions and colonial heritage.
Barrio Italia is an older residential neighborhood known for its restored houses and interior courtyards. These spaces now host small design shops, local cafes, and artisan workshops. It is also an area where traditional antique restorers still work on the streets. We will stop here for about 30 minutes to walk around and explore the area, always accompanied by our guide.
Barrio Lastarria is a historic neighborhood in downtown Santiago with European-style architecture, cobblestone streets, and cultural spaces. The area has cafes, small art galleries, and street markets with books or crafts. Our guide will walk with you for about 30 minutes to show you the neighborhood's highlights.
One of Santiago's most elegant neighborhoods, Vitacura is known for its tree-lined avenues, contemporary architecture, acclaimed restaurants, art galleries, and beautifully maintained green spaces.
One of Santiago’s most beloved urban parks, featuring landscaped gardens, tranquil lagoons, and walking paths that offer a peaceful contrast to the city’s vibrant pace.
An elegant neighborhood where leafy streets, local cafés, and contemporary city life come together to showcase Santiago’s modern character.
Cerro San Cristóbal is a prominent hill located inside the Metropolitan Park. On this tour, you will take a cable car (teleférico) ride to the top, which offers panoramic views of Santiago and the Andes Mountains. At the summit, you can see the Virgin Mary statue, walk through the gardens, and visit the different lookout points. After exploring the area, we will take the cable car back down to continue our route.
Most modern performing arts cultural center in the country
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
Hotel and Airbnb pickup is included for guests staying in central Santiago. Please provide your accommodation details when booking so we can coordinate your pickup accordingly. If your accommodation falls outside our pickup area, we will arrange a convenient nearby meeting point. Complimentary pickup is available from the following districts: • Santiago Downtown • Providencia • Las Condes • Vitacura For smooth communication before your tour, we recommend providing a phone number with WhatsApp access. Your exact pickup time will be confirmed by 9:00 PM on the evening prior to your tour. Pickup from hotels near Santiago Airport can be arranged upon request, subject to availability, for an additional fee of USD 15 per person.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- ¿Es necesario tener un buen estado físico? Se recomienda un nivel moderado de movilidad debido a las caminatas cortas y al uso del teleférico.
- ¿El tour opera en todas las condiciones climáticas? Sí. Sin embargo, el funcionamiento del teleférico está sujeto a mantenciones o condiciones climáticas adversas.
- ¿Se requiere un número mínimo de participantes? No. Este es un tour privado.
Reviews(45)
Great guide. Flexible and showed us the very best of santiago. Had young kids so was able to adjust and still give e everything promised. Great tour
Thank you for your kind review. We're glad your family enjoyed the Private Santiago City Tour with Cable Car. It's great to know Julio adapted the experience to your group while making sure you could discover Santiago's main attractions. We appreciate your feedback.
Pleasant day in Santiago
Grazie per la sua recensione. Siamo lieti che abbia trascorso una piacevole giornata con il nostro Private Santiago City Tour with Cable Car.
Leonardo was amazing ! Very friendly and knowledgeable money well spent
Thank you for your review. We’re glad to hear you had a positive experience on the Private Santiago City Tour with Cable Car and that Leonardo’s friendly and knowledgeable approach made it worthwhile. We appreciate your visit and your feedback.
I think it was ok, I think maybe pricey for what you get, but you get a good layout of the city, so if you do this first it gets put toghether very nicely.
Thank you for your feedback. We’re glad to hear the Private Santiago City Tour with Cable Car gave you a good overview of the city and helped you get oriented early in your visit. We appreciate your comments and thank you for choosing our tour.
Today we did the half day Santiago city tour with Cable Car ride at San Cristobal with guide Julio. What an amazing tour with Julio treating us like family, his personal knowledge of local & Chilean history & geography, architecture & statistics. The tour was well paced allowing us plenty of time to take in thr sights. The Cable Car ride up San Cristobel to view the city and the statue of the Virgin Mary. Interesting facts and highlights about the modern upmarket areas of Las Condes and Bellavista. And of the Cerro Santa Lucia Hill. Well explained facts of the city's history, the Govt buildings & the Presedential Palace. The beautiful Cathedral and highlights of the Plaza de Armas. Julio was a constant source of knowledge and clearly enjoys his job. Ask for him you will not be disappointed. Thoroughly recommend this tour
Thank you for your detailed review. We’re very pleased to hear that your Private Santiago City Tour with Cable Car offered a well-paced and comprehensive way to explore the city. Combining panoramic views from Cerro San Cristóbal with visits to historic areas like Plaza de Armas and Santa Lucía is a great way to understand Santiago from different perspectives. We’re especially glad that Julio’s knowledge and approach made the experience engaging throughout the day. We truly appreciate your recommendation and your visit with us.
Our tour of Santiago was outstanding. Our guide, Julio, was so knowledgeable on all aspects of Santiago and its history. He made our experience so special and we came away with a greater appreciation of this wonderful city. You couldn’t go wrong with this tour and Julio.
Thank you for your review. We’re pleased to know that your Private Santiago City Tour with Cable Car provided a well-rounded introduction to the city. Julio’s local knowledge and approach are key to helping travelers better understand Santiago and its history. We appreciate your recommendation and your visit with us.
Our guide Julio picked us up on time. He was friendly and provided history and information about each site. We enjoyed the tour very much.
Thank you for your kind review. We’re glad you enjoyed the Private Santiago City Tour with Cable Car and that Julio’s explanations helped you learn more about the city’s history and landmarks. It’s great to know you had a good experience exploring Santiago with us.
This was interesting from a historical point of view. The sights in Santiago are not that dramatic. The cable car trip was nice. Salvadore did a very nice job with the tour providing historical videos to illustrate the most important events. We enjoyed our time with him.
Thank you for sharing your feedback and for joining our Private Santiago City Tour with Cable Car. We’re pleased to hear you enjoyed the historical perspective of the tour and the cable car ride. It’s great to know that Salvador’s explanations and the historical videos helped bring key moments of Chile’s history to life during your visit. We appreciate you touring with us.
We messaged Chile Vive tours last minute the morning of our tour requesting a tour for later that afternoon, and they were able to organize the tour including airport pickup and drop off within a few minutes of our message. Juan was an incredible guide, thorougly knowledgeable about Chile, South America and other parts of the world, and was great with adapting the tour to our needs, including taking us to Patio Bellavista and treating us to mote con huesillo at the top of Parque Metropolitano. Huge thanks to the team and Juan for memorable experiences
Thank you very much, Jugal, for taking the time to share your experience. We’re especially happy to know that your layover in Santiago turned into something memorable. Over the past year, we’ve been helping more travelers make the most of their short stops in the city, and it’s wonderful to see how a well-planned layover tour can completely transform waiting time into a meaningful experience. Juan will be very pleased to hear your feedback. Our goal is always to design flexible, well-paced experiences that adapt to each traveler’s schedule — particularly when working around flight times. Thank you again for choosing ChileVive Tours and for trusting us with your time in Santiago.
We were shown various areas of town. Walked in a lovely park. Took the gondola up and spent time at the top. Walked around the main square. Our tour leader Leo was excellent at explaining things and giving us lots of information all day. We loved that!
Thank you for sharing your experience. We’re glad you enjoyed exploring different areas of Santiago, including the park, the main square, and the cable car views. It’s great to know that Leo’s explanations and detailed insights added value to your day. We appreciate your feedback and your time touring with us.
