Earlier this summer I rented an apartment in Santiago's downtown, a fully equipped place at a walking distance from the main streets, transport, tourism attraction and shopping centres.

A really affordable place for anybody who want to stay just a little or a long time in Santiago. It's cheap and it worth more then you pay for. The building is brand new and includes all services like doorman, elevators, laundry, gym, spa and pool.

Santiago 710
Zenteno 138, Santiago Centro

www.santiago-apartment.com/

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Beautifully presented and amazing artifacts from Central to South America. It is quite small so you don't need long.

www.precolombino.cl
Plaza de Armas metro.

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The best chefs in Chile are Peruvian and Peruvian restaurants can be found all over the country. One of the best in Santiago is Puerto Peru, on the corner of Condell and Santa Isabel (border Providencia/Nunoa).

The Pulpo al Olivar (octopus with black olive dressing) is divine and the Seco de Cordero is excellent as well. Most items on the menu are very good and the Pisco Sours are some of the best in Santiago.

Highly recommended.

Condell/Santa Isabel
www.puertoperu.cl

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The problem with travelling in Chile is that it is so damn long and the best bits are strung out along its entire length.

I travelled to Chile once a few years ago and made the mistake of not making all my arrangements before going there. Although this might seem like a more adventurous option, the problem is, that if you haven't got months to spend, that you will end up not seeing everything that you want to.

I was therefore left with a strong desire to return to Chile on a more organised trip. This time I did my research, reading articles and the like and I found Optimundo, a company that specialises in tailor made trips to Chile.

I can't recommend contacting Optimundo enough, if you are planning a trip to this amazing country. They put together exactly the trip that I wanted to take my family on and once there it went like clockwork. Everything: friendly guides, good hotels, interesting tours, and most importantly we got to see all the places on my wish list - the icebergs and glaciers of Patagonia; the volcanoes and lakes in the lake district; the dolphins and penguins; the dramatic desert landscapes.

So my tip is, if you haven't got heaps of time, get a detailed itinerary planned out before you go.

www.optimundo.com
www.optimundo.com/tailormade.htm

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Okay, so maybe you don't want to eat Indian food in Chile. But it is the most delicious Indian food in perhaps the entire continent, seriously. I ate there four times in two weeks, that's how lovely it was.

Calle Santa Domingo
Nearest station: Santa Ana

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A new hostel in Santiago. You can get a good night's sleep in the clean, well decorated rooms. The people who own it are incredibly lovely, like all Chilenos. The location is good, but not noisy.

You can cross the bridge and you're in the main nightlife area, Providencia. The hostel is also conveniently close to some Spanish language schools.

Calle Triana 863, Providencia.
Nearest metro stop: Salvador

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Coaches in Chile are ridiculously cheap and cover the whole country. They depart regularly from the central coach station.

If you fancy a day trip head to Valparaiso. It's a short hour-and-a-half journey. This big port is the second largest city in Chile and is far more unique and representative of the country. Don't attempt to tackle the hills once there - there are handy elevators that take you to the top for one of the most stunning views in Chile. I would particularly recommend Valparaiso at New Years Eve as a huge fireworks display takes place across the whole bay.

Declared Chile's Cultural Capital in 2003, Valparaiso lies 120km northwest of Santiago

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Donde Augusto is a must if you love seafood. A true gem located inside the Mercado Central Fish Market. Being Chilean-American I can assure you this is the genuine real deal. Loved by tourists and locals alike (about a 50/50 split). Remember, lunch only.

Inside the Mercado Central Fish Market

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Be careful if you are driving around Santiago in the morning or evening rush hours because large roads such as Irrarazaval are made one way at these times, into town in the morning and out in the evening. Both parts of the dual carriageway are one way, so be careful not to find yourself facing a load of oncoming traffic.

Major thoroughfares in and out of the city centre

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It's a classic old style bar/bistro/restaurant with a bit of style and little pretension. Quality food, and wine of course, it's smokey and well decorated, a picture of classical South American dining.

Liguria. Av. Providencia 1373.
Metro Tobalaba (North exit).

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Santiago's very own revolving restaurant.

There is something very modernist about the whole revolving restaurant thing: a 60s/70s international style fad that has just about survived into the 21st-century. You can imagine Augusto Pinochet, fresh from one of his shopping trips to London, asking Santiago's city planners to come up with something that could replicate the GPO Tower dining experience.

Bizarrely, my main course at the Giratorio was like a Chilean riff on fish'n'chips: battered conger eel and a fried egg and chips. Not bad actually. And the wine was, as you'd expect in Chile, excellent.

Unlike with some revolving restaurants I have visited, the Giratorio building itself does not move, instead the restaurant is on a kind of giant turntable inside a rectangular steel and glass structure. With mountains on all sides, the 90-minute journey around Santiago is a picturesque and contemplative experience. Can the Muzak though please, guys.

Av. 11 de Septiembre 2250, Piso 16; nearest metro: Estacion Los Leones; tel: 232 1827/251 5789;
www.restaurantgiratorio.cl

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A small hostel in the Barrio Bellavista area of town, it doesn't even have a sign to speak of out the front, but this place is magic. Run by some very amiable people, it's close to some great bars and restaurants - a good night out is no more that a few minutes walk up the road, and the metro is about ten minutes away. Very sociable.

Book through www.hostelworld.com

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One of the cheapest places to bed down for the night in Santiago is Scott's Place, also known as the SCS Habitat. Scott, an occasionally acerbic American expat, is nonetheless extremely knowledgeable about the whole continent, particularly the southern cone, and has reams of maps and unusual, out-of-print guidebooks, which offer a distinct change to the Lonely Planet.

The hostel itself is in a quiet neighbourhood a little way out the centre, 20 minutes or so from the Plaza de Armas by regular buses. The facilities themselves are basic but functional. Scott can also arrange a Spanish language teacher for group or individual lessons.

San Vicente 1798, Santiago; tel: 2 683 3732

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