Santiago is a big, modern and – with regard to its considerable size – really a neat city. I spent there less than 24 hours during my trip in Chile (arriving from Valparaiso by bus), from the late evening January 20th, 2006 to the afternoon of the following day. So, on the daytime, we walked throughout the downtown. The pics were taken in the streets around Moneda palace, Plaza de Armas and Mercado Central.

Moneda seemed to me surprisingly small since while watching its images on TV previously, I always had a sensation the structure is somehow higher and bigger. I liked the statues of the presidents in the rear garden outside the palace. These might work as a history book quite well! Inside the palace, there is a court with entrance for public. Families with small children use to go there for a walk and the place looked very quiet. Passing through Paseo Ahumada we arrived to Plaza de Armas and the Mercado Central. The main offer of this place consists from tasty and fresh seafood and some additional items to flavor it (spices, olives, pickled vegetables etc.). You can eat it in a couple of restaurants there. So we did, having both breakfast and an afternoon meal there. This is highly recommended to any visitor of the city. And after that, the time came to leave Santiago. We flew to Punta Arenas.

The pics show some of my impressions from this short stoppage. Enjoy them!