Santiago is the Athens of South America.  I say that because most visitors dismiss the city as a crowded, polluted, and dull eyesore.  But like Athens, once you get past the smog and do some exploring, the city offers much for the visitor.  Old neighborhoods from centuries past laced with cobblestone streets, are now lined with trendy cafes and restaurants.  If you crave the conveniences of home, huge malls and superstores will make you blush.  Your palate will enjoy the visit as well:  Chilean food is hearty, produce is cheap and plentiful, and you will never want to buy an avocado at home again after seeing how cheap they are throughout Chile.  Just be prepared if you are a caffeine fiend:  Chilean coffee is terrible (instant is the norm), so you have to settle for Starbucks or McCafe.  Overall, experiencing all that Santiago offers is easy and just plain fun:  the city has the most modern and extensive subway system in South America.

 

Metro de Santiago is a transit system that makes any North American rail network seem shoddy by comparison.  Serving Chile's capital and its 5.2 million residents, the system boasts 5 lines, over 100 stations, and over 60 miles of tracks.  Cost effective at about US$0.75 a ticket, the stations are modern, buying a ticket is intuitive even if you are not a local, and the trains are fast and clean.  Its lines reach far out into residential areas, including Line 4, upon which I relied during my 10 days in the city.  And Metro will continue to grow: the agency running Metro recently sold about US$170 million in bonds to finance the extension of lines to suburban areas like Maipú.  I felt very safe as well--every station seemed well patrolled and staffed.

 

Like many large cities, Santiago's Metro was a construction process that took a life of its own.  City leaders conceived a plan as early as the 1940s, but construction did not start in full swing until the late 1960s.  The system finally opened in 1975 with 2 lines, with the other lines finally starting operations earlier this decade. 

 

Once you get off the subway, however, public transport in Santiago gets dicey.  Buses are often plagued with inconsistent service, and taxis are relatively expensive compared with the prices of other goods and services in Chile.  The subway, as a result, is heavily used as locals find this the only reliable transport in the city.  Santiago's leaders also suffered from the typical (lack of) wisdom that throws a wrench in many travellers' and residents' plans:  there is no rail from the airport to town.  You have the "suggested" airport taxi service, or you can take a bus to the Los Héroes Metro station and transfer to the subway--not always the most seamless option if you are arriving after a 10 hour flight.

 

The last few years have not been too kind to Metro's management and employees.  Several strikes, hampering service, have occurred, and locals often complain about the overcrowding and occasional breakdowns in operations.  Many of the tunnels are very narrow, which reduced construction costs, but engineers often raise issues over proper ventilation, though from what I could see, the tunnels often looked safe and built to handle emergency evacuations.  In sum, Metro would be the envy of any North American, or even European, city.

 

Overall, Metro is fantastic if you are in Santiago for a business trip and have to commute around the city's financial center, and if you have free time to experience the nightlife and Pablo Neruda's old haunts, buy a weekly or a 10-ticket pass.  You can also take the subway to visit some of Chile's most famous wineries.  Once you leave the city, public transportation often improves--buses can take you to nearby Valparaiso and the Chilean coast, and towns in Central Chile are also accessible through the country's train system.

 

Finally, some of the stations have awesome public art--I guess something good had to come from the Augusto Pinochet era.

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