Yungay Neighbourhood.... Are you Happy?

MAC, Contemporary Arts Museum - Are you Happy

A work displayed on the MAC

Santiago is quite a big city and has many interesting places to visit. One of the most underrated areas of the city is Barrio Yungay, located in the west side of the city, close to the Plaza de Armas and La Moneda.

There are several reasons to visit the neighbourhood, among others, this is the place that the current president of Chile chose to be his home while he is in office. No surprise for some of us, as Yungay means art, culture and museums.

One of the places that us, chileans, love the most is the corner of La Peluquerìa Francesa. You are not only invited to have your beard done by the most traditional barber in town, but you can also go to the second floor and have an unexpensive and lovely dinner with local ingredients

Peluqueria Francesa in Yungay

You can have an idea of the very modest area where the president lives, but you will not be able to go to close.

A house next to president Boric home

Along with the very interesting architecture, you will see that the area has some of the magic that lives in the port of Valparaiso, with facades that are well conserved and curated by local artists.

This was one of the first organized neighborhoods that Santiago created, and many businessmen decided to live in the area after it was founded. The name of the area is given to it because of one of the big battles that Chile had in the Pacific War, one of the first victories of the recently born Chilean army.

Grafitis in the Yungay area

Grafitis in the Yungay neighbourhood

"citès", the concept of life in the beginning of the 19th century in Santiago

Along with the graffiti area, a lot of fine museums are displayed in this area. One of the most recently inaugurated is the Museum of the Memoir, which is really well made and displays the history of the 1973 coup d'état in Chile. If you are interested in understanding Pinochet, Allende, and the situation of Latin America during these times, this is a really good option for you to get the full picture.

Museo de la Memoria

Original 19th-century neighbourhoods

Anyway, because no agencies will normally take you there, you can plan a local walk by yourself. It is great for kids, specially because of the trains and natural history museums.

grafitis

Train Museum CLP 3000 - USD 3

Artequin Museum for Arts (Kids-Programmed Visits)

Natural History Museum

Artequin Museum

Natural History Museum

Who knows, after this visit you could answer "Sì, soy feliz"