Baron’s Pier to Italian Park

Summary: You’ll zigzag through the old Almendral. The Catholic University, the Cardonal Market Place, and the old Huche Cookie Factory make up some of the highlights.
Estimated Walking Time: Approximately 90 minutes.

How to get here: Ride the train to Baron Station, or take a bus or taxi to Viña, stepping of at the Baron Train station. A small pedestrian entrance leads to the Cruise Ship Terminal and Pier.
Degree of difficulty: easy

Tourist Infrastructure: There is a café in the Baron’s pier and another in the cruise terminal. Many inexpensive restaurants adorn the Market Place. On Pedro Montt Street there will be an infinite amount of soda fountains and inexpensive restaurants. This section begins at the Baron’s Pier, takes you past the Simón Bolivar warehouse and towards the Catholic University of Valparaíso. The immense concrete warehouse, the longest industrial building in all of Chile and now home to the most modern cruise terminal in the South Pacific, will form the centerpiece of the futures waterfront renovation project in Valparaíso.

Catholic University of Valparaíso (PUCV)

The Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso begins the college-town strip along Brazil Avenue, which also includes the University of Valparaíso and Duoc. The origins of PUCV, like that of the Santa María University, can be found in the generosity of born architect John Brown Duffin, who arrived from New York, forming part of the bustling US community in Valparaíso in the 1850’s. He left his fortune for philanthropic causes.
His widow Isabel decided on the creation of this university, built by architect Ernesto Urquieta in 1925. The first chancellor was Ruben Castro. The building is stately and noble, including lovely interior plazas and passageways. One of only a handful of Latin American University’s whose excellence is validated by the Vatican, PCUV’s legacy includes Chile’s first television station and the experimental city of Ritoque (Amereida), north of Viña on the coast.

Cardonal Market Place

An important fruit and vegetable market, this attractive market place exemplifies the industrial architecture developed in Valparaíso in the last days before the Panama Canal. The architect was Eduardo Feureisen and the building dates to 1912. Several blocks, you will find the stunning ex-Hucke factory (currently Chilquinta Energy), which is a second example of the same industrial architectural style.

Municipal Theater and Plaza O’Higgins

Via Uruguay Street you will access the Plaza O’Higgins, flanked on one side by the imposing congress and on the other by the Municipal Theater. On the weekends, this is the site of a fine antique market.

Pedro Montt Street

This street lost much notable architecture in the 1906 earthquake. Still, some valuable buildings remain. The Old Spanish Fire House is worth a visit. The Greek and Italian Schools also offers a glimpse into the city’s ethnic diversity.

Italian School and Italian Park

The influential Italian School dates to 1942. Many prominent intellectuals and public servants have studied here. A few blocks later, we arrive at the Italian Park, flanked by wonderful architecture, the Sacred Hearts School, the Turkish bath house, and several residential neighborhoods. During the mid 1800’s, the park was originally known as the Abadie Gardens, named after the French aristocrat, Paul Abadie who brought to Valparaíso seedlings from Europe. The area quickly became the hubs of the burgeoning social scene. City hall purchased the place in 1870 and in 1912 renamed it General Cruz Park, later settling for Italian Park. The city began to erect many fine statues, especially the monument to the Italian community of Valparaíso. During the Popular Unity Government of Salvador Allende, this area was renamed, “The Plaza of the People.” The idea never took off, and today nobody seems to complain that it has returned to Italian Park.