Museums · Santiago · Chile
5 best museums in Santiago
The collections worth your time, how long each takes and how to fit them together.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Miguel hernandez, CC BY-SA 2.0
Quick answer
Start with Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino, Museum of Memory and Human Rights and Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes. Together the 5 picks below take roughly 10–11 hours across 4 areas; 3 are free.
Key facts
- Places in this guide
- 5
- Free entry
- 3
- Time to see them all
- 10–11 hours
- Areas
- Centro Histórico, Quinta Normal and Parque Forestal
Museums in Santiago
Museum · Centro Histórico
1.Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino
One block from the Plaza de Armas in the former Royal Customs House, this museum displays pottery, textiles, gold and stone sculpture from cultures between Mexico and southern Chile.
- Time needed
- 1.5–2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Art
- History
- Rainy day
Museum · Quinta Normal
2.Museum of Memory and Human Rights
Opened in 2010, this museum documents the human rights violations committed during the military regime of 1973–1990 through testimonies, photographs, letters and broadcast footage.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- History
- Free
- Rainy day
Gallery · Parque Forestal
3.Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes
Chile's national fine arts museum occupies a 1910 Beaux-Arts palace with a glass-domed central hall at the edge of Parque Forestal.
- Time needed
- 1.5 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Art
- Architecture
- Free
- Rainy day
Museum · Quinta Normal
4.Museo Nacional de Historia Natural
Inside the Quinta Normal park, Chile's natural history museum is known for its large whale skeleton hanging in the central hall, plus displays on Chilean fauna, the Atacama and Easter Island.
- Time needed
- 1.5 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Kids
- Free
- Rainy day
- Nature
Museum · La Granja
5.Museo Interactivo Mirador (MIM)
Santiago's hands-on science museum has hundreds of interactive exhibits on physics, the human body, earthquakes and technology, set in a large park in the south of the city.
- Time needed
- Half a day
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Rainy day
- Active
Grouped by area
| Area | Places | Time needed |
|---|---|---|
| Centro Histórico | Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino | 1.5–2 hours |
| Quinta Normal | Museum of Memory and Human Rights and Museo Nacional de Historia Natural | 2 hours + 1.5 hours |
| Parque Forestal | Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes | 1.5 hours |
| La Granja | Museo Interactivo Mirador (MIM) | Half a day |
Booking and timing
Of these 5, 3 free, 2 mid-priced. None needs booking far in advance. The longest visit is Museo Interactivo Mirador (MIM); group the rest by area to save travel time.
How to fit them into 3 half-days
Grouped by area and kept to about four hours each, so you walk more than you ride.
- Half-day 1 (Centro Histórico and Quinta Normal): Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino → Museum of Memory and Human Rights, at least 4 hours.
- Half-day 2 (Quinta Normal and Parque Forestal): Museo Nacional de Historia Natural → Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, at least 3 hours.
- Half-day 3 (La Granja): Museo Interactivo Mirador (MIM), at least 3 hours.
The quietest months for queues
- February: highs of 30°C (86°F), about 0 rainy days, quiet crowds. The height of the local summer holidays, with very hot afternoons and many small restaurants closed for a few weeks.
- April: highs of 23°C (73°F), about 2 rainy days, quiet crowds. Pleasant autumn days and cool nights, with vineyards turning red and gold.
- May: highs of 18°C (64°F), about 4 rainy days, quiet crowds. Cooler with the first rains; smog can build up on still days before the winter fronts arrive.
The neighbourhoods they are in
- Lastarria — Cobbled streets, bookshops, cafés and theatres below Cerro Santa Lucía
- Centro Histórico — Plaza de Armas, government palaces and busy pedestrian streets
More of Santiago
Questions travellers ask
+Where should I start in Santiago?
Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino. One block from the Plaza de Armas in the former Royal Customs House, this museum displays pottery, textiles, gold and stone sculpture from cultures between Mexico and southern Chile.
+Which of these are free in Santiago?
Museum of Memory and Human Rights, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes and Museo Nacional de Historia Natural.