Valparaiso has all the services and facilities
of a small city
Climate in Valparaíso Chile
The
climate found at Valparaiso is a mild Mediterranean one with winter
rains and a prolonged dry season. Temperatures during the summer fluctuate
between 23ºC and 13ºC while in the winter, temperatures
between 17ºC and 8ºC are most common. The rainiest month
of the year is June in which rainfall levels can reach just above
28 mm.
" Eres un arco iris de
múltiples colores, Valparaíso, puerto principal. Tus mujeres
son blancas margaritas, todas ellas arrancadas de tu mar…" ("you
are a rainbow of multiple colors, Valparaiso, main port. Your women are
white margarites, all harvested from your sea…"). This is how
one of many popular songs starts which was inspired by the unique beauty
of this portal city, located less than two hours from Santiago. The arquitectual
scenery of the city has respected every curve of the surrounding hills.
The result was a colorful city with houses and buildings in suspension from
the heights, owning a vast view towards the blue Pacific Ocean.
Valparaiso, apart from being
the source of inspiration for poets, painters and musicians, is the capital
city of the fifth region of the country. Since 1998, it has been the Legislation
Headquarters as it holds the impressive building of the National Congress,
located on the Argentina Avenue. The city is also the main port of Chile
and the headquarters of the Chilean navy.
For a long time,
this city was the most important one on the Latin-American Pacific coastline.
Prior to the use of the Panama Canal, its bay was an obligatory stop for
ships that had to cross through the Strait of Magellan. So, especially during
the 19th century, it became the entrance for the modernization of Chile.
Its people knew, before the rest of the Chileans, the use of telephones,
streetlights and cars. Of special interest at the time were the first animated
images exhibited in the "cinematógrafo".
The hills of the port hold
most of the population of 274,228 inhabitants. They go down everyday to
the narrow city center to work in the port or to engage in financial or
commercial activities. Sometimes they come down just to have fun around
the Victoria Plaza. A special use is given to the folkloric lifts and narrow
stairways that connect the hills with each other and with the bay.
To appreciate the young nightlife,
go to the bars on Ecuador Hill. Sailors visited many of them and but, little
by little the sailors have been replaced by the young university students
in the area.
For gastronomy, there are several tasty alternatives based on seafood and
fresh vegetables. In the Central Market and the fishermen docks El Membrillo
and Portales, there are several small restaurants and places to taste the
local native food.
Other attractions are the Polanco
Lift that can be taken on Argentina Avenue via Simpson Street. The longest
stairway is on Serrano Street, close to the Sotomayor Plaza in the Barrio
del Puerto. On the Florida hill, at number 6900 on Alemania Avenue, the
house of the literature Nobel Prize poet, Pablo Neruda can be found. On
the Cerro Alegre is the Museo Municipal de Valparaíso. From the Prat
dock, the tourist can board one of the motor boats that go around the bay,
usually accompanied by cheerful popular musicians.
The most important
event in the summer is New Years Eve in the sea. The event is a fireworks
show at midnight every 1st of January. The fireworks go on for half an hour
and are accompanied by music. They are fired from the port and reflect on
the sea, making it a unique view of colors, sounds and forms. Traditionally,
the inhabitants of Valparaíso and foreign and Chilean tourists watch
this show from the streets and hills. There are also yachts and boats that
offer dinners and special locations for the occasion.
Climate in Valparaíso Chile
