Historical Churches and Cathedrals (Self Guided), Santiago

For a country relatively small in terms of population, Chile is quite rich in two things: coastline and churches. Thanks to the Spanish founders of the Chilean capital, the majority of Santiago’s temples are Catholic. Given that most of them are conveniently located in the downtown area, checking out these historic religious sites doesn’t take too much time.

The San Francisco Church – originally constructed in 1613. The adjacent convent is currently a museum open to the public, featuring colonial art and period religious artifacts. The Church of Our Lady of Grace – commonly known as the Church of St Augustine, is the second oldest church in Chile, originally built in 1608. Inside there is a legendary wooden carving of Jesus Christ, called Cristo de Mayo.

Basílica de la Merced – built in 1795, this maroon and white-trimmed church is now a national monument. It houses a small museum that contains religious art and artifacts from Chile’s famous Easter Island. The Santo Domingo Church – the current structure is one of many upgrades of the first church built back in the 1500s. The temple boasts Neoclassical design, and its brick towers show the influence of a Bavarian baroque style.

The Santiago Metropolitan Cathedral – a stunning Neoclassical sanctuary that took 52 years to build with numerous updates; the most recent of them took place in the early 1800s. The Church of Santa Ana – a National Monument of Chile since 1970. The first church on the site was built in 1586.

If you wish to take a closer look inside some of the oldest and most prominent historic churches and cathedrals of Santiago, take this self-guided walking tour.