Welcome to a new blog series! Travel is integral to Abe, so I thought it would be fun to share some of the many photos from my travels to inspire your own wanderlust. Plus, a few tips and favorite places to see, eat & do—a twist on the traditional travel guide blog. First up, Lima, Peru!

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Where to stay: We loved the historic, walkable feel of the Barranco district.

Favorite places to eat:

• Alanya Repostería for coffee, pastries and lunch

• Casa Lola for breakfast

• Rue for dinner

• Colonia & Co for breakfast

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Things to do:

• Wander all over! But more specifically, the historic center of Barranco, which also happens to lead down to a few beaches.

• Watch the sunset on the water

• Walk or bike along the Malecon, a two-mile stretch along the cliffs

• Go on a food tour

• Head over to the beach town of Punta Hermosa, an hour south of Lima

I hope this gives you a glimpse of what Lima, Peru has to offer!

—Mallory

Valparaiso was once a thriving port on Chile’s coast, the link for trade moving between Europe and the Pacific. It’s a city with a mixed European and indigenous heritage, a city that’s colorful, messy, eclectic, charming. Valpo is off-the-radar, an unlikely place to visit, at least for most Americans. Think the climate, hills and bohemian culture of San Francisco or Lisbon. And that’s partly why it was love at first sight when I came across it last summer.

We spent a week in Chile’s cultural capital at the height of the southern hemisphere’s summer, wandering the hills called cerros and exploring their nooks and crannies. Gorgeous views of the Pacific were around every corner, and many empanadas were consumed. We were also humbled by a people who were experiencing their own political awakening.

If you like discovering places that are off-the-beaten path, Valparaiso may just be the city for you. Here are our highlights from our visit and top recommendations.

Where to stay in Valparaiso, Chile

The majority of hotels are located in the UNESCO world heritage-protected Cerro Alegre and Cerro Concepcion. But we booked an apartment through Airbnb and stayed in a less touristy hill, Cerro Bellavista. It was quieter and more local. With lots of cats, too!

What to do in Valparaiso, Chile

Make sure you bring a comfortable pair of shoes and be prepared for a workout walking up and down the hills. You’ll want to wear layers, as the temperature fluctuates from cool to warm throughout the day, depending on the weather conditions. We had several cool, foggy/cloudy mornings that always heated up when the sun came out later in the day.

Top things to do

• Wander, eat, drink and shop through Cerro Alegre and Cerro Concepcion - These two are the main hills tourists visit. Think winding streets with colorful buildings, lots of street art and yes, tourists. Take a walking tour with Tours4Tips to learn about Valpo’s history and gain a better understanding of the area. We took the afternoon tour, and it helped give context to the places we’d already been wandering. The tours run every day and you pay what you want, typically around $6-7,000 Chilean pesos. There are also street art tours that delve more specifically into Valparaiso’s rich street art scene.

• Visit Nobel Prize-winning poet Pablo Neruda’s home, La Sebastiana, and explore Cerro Bellavista - The main tourist draw in Cerro Bellavista is famed poet Pablo Neruda’s house at the top of the hill. Unfortunately, pictures inside the house weren’t allowed, but it was beautiful and filled with things that Neruda loved (he had it custom built and it’s one of his 3 homes in Chile). The views were pretty spectacular, too. Make sure to wander the surrounding streets!

• Visit a winery in Casablanca Valley - About 45 minutes away from Valpo is the Chilean wine region, Casablanca. We visited Emiliana, an organic vineyard, as part of our wine tour/cooking class combo. Our guide picked us up and drove us out here, but you can also find tours or hire your own guide. It was a lovely way to spend the morning.

• Learn to cook Chilean food with a cooking class - We love to take food tours when we travel, but I didn’t find one that seemed worthwhile in Valpo. But what I found was better - a cooking class! Chilean Cuisine offers several group and private classes (ours was a private class that was packaged with the winery visit). Our chef, Pablo, took us to the market to shop for our ingredients and then taught us how to prepare classic Chilean dishes back at the kitchen. The food was delicious and Pablo was great company. We have the recipes to recreate our meal here at home.

• Head down to Muelle Prat and take a boat ride for views of Valparaiso from the water - For $4,000 Chilean pesos, hop on a ferry boat for an hour-long tour (in Spanish) that takes you along the coastline to Vina del Mar and back. It’s a nice break from walking hills.

• Enjoy a beach day in neighboring town Vina del Mar - Take the metro (surprisingly modern compared to the rest of Valpo) into the more upscale Vina del Mar for a day at the beach. We picked up bathing suits, towels and sunscreen from the mall nearby and enjoyed an afternoon of sun and sand…along with the rest of Chile! The water was rough and cold so we only dipped our toes, but it wasn’t too hot on the beach. 

Other things to do

• Ride one of the historic funiculars - Called ascensors, most of these elevators are now defunct around the city, but some still exist and for $500 pesos, you can take a ride up a hill to the top instead of climbing your way. You’ll find Ascensor Reina Victoria in Cerro Alegre and Ascensor El Peral in Concepcion.

• Walk the “flat” streets - Valpo’s real estate was expanded over the years by building up land along the shore. These flat streets are home to many of the historic architecture and daily commercial activities. We recommend relaxing in Plaza Victoria, where you’ll find residents doing the same.

• Stroll a former prison-turned-park at Parque Cultural de Valparaiso - Valpo’s former prison has been transformed into a park and cultural center. It’s worth a wander through Cerro Carcel to check out. Often there are exhibits and other programming; we saw one exhibit featuring the work of a Chilean artist.

Where to eat and drink in Valparaiso, Chile

We bought groceries from the supermarket so that we could make our own breakfast each day. We also tended to eat larger, later lunches (1 or 2pm-ish) so we mostly had light dinners of peanut butter and crackers in the evening if we were hungry. The food was hit or miss. Our best meal was the one we cooked ourselves in our cooking class, but we did enjoy our lunch at Caperucita y el Lobo, which was down the hill from our apartment. Our host also recommended Espiritu Santo, but we didn’t get a chance to try it out.

• Best empanadas - Le Pató

• Best views for drinks - Fauna Hotel and Taulat in Cerro Alegre

• Best meal - Caperucita y el Lobo

Favorite thing about Valparaiso

One of my favorite things about Valparaiso was the street cats and dogs who lounged and roamed about. It was something so different and surprising to see! The animals were well-fed and friendly. You’d see cats hanging out windows and dogs laying in the middle of the sidewalk sleeping. They’re just a part of the city. I made friends with a couple of the cats who lived by our apartment. I’m glad they had homes and I had to travel by plane, otherwise, they may have come home with me!

What else to know about traveling to Valparaiso

I touched on it briefly, but Valparaiso, like Chile as a whole, is in the midst of a political uprising. We learned of almost daily protests that were occurring in the streets when we arrived; however, we think we only heard one in the distance and may have been witness to one organizing. But the city is not unsafe and the people are not violent - once we talked to locals about it more, we came to better understand the situation. There is a ton of graffiti and landmarks have been vandalized, so it will likely be more of a visual shock if you spend time outside of the tourist areas. I’ve done a larger piece about our experience on my personal blog that you can view here.

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What do you think of Valparaiso? Is it a place you want to visit? What else do you want to know about our trip? Leave questions in the comments!