Parque Quinta Normal

How to Spend 24 Hours in Santiago (Updated 2025)

"I love the beautifully green Quinta Normal because it feels like a lush oasis in the middle of the bustling city and offers a good window into average Chilean life — it’s in a working-class neighborhood, so people-watching here gives you a real sense of typical Santiago family life. Inside the park you’ll find a public swimming pool, a football field and several smaller fields for pick-up games, picnic tables and grills, a jogging/walking track, what used to be a greenhouse (now a cool, abandoned glass building), a pond with rowboats you can rent, statues, playgrounds, fountains and more; I advise you to simply walk around and observe. The Quinta is also home to many of Santiago’s museums, so depending on your interests you can spend the morning visiting a few of them." - Matthew Kepnes