帕拉西奥德拉莫内达广场公民文化中心

Go to the museums, shop for local crafts or a book while learning about the craftspeople via display videos, eat lunch in the cafe. This is a relaxing place to get out of the sun and heat of the city for a break.

An open centre for rotative expositions, disposed in three big rooms and a cinema. The snack bars in the Centro Cultural are expensive, but one usually doesn't get there to eat. Its entrance is barely noticed under the front of the Plaza de la Ciudadania, but it is surely worth looking.

We tried two of the cafes for lunch and both were great. Interesting place to sit, the small cafe shows trailers for the movies they are showing. Temporary exhibitions, often lots going on in the downstairs area. We checked out the Chilean crafts shops all over Chile, including at Los Dominicos, and thought that the one here actually had nicer jewellery, scarves and rugs than anywhere else we went. Pop in if you are in the area and see what is going on. (also a handy bathroom!)

This sunken Plaza offers a market in the weekends where you can find handcraft objects and activities for kids.

If you are visiting Plaza de la Moneda to check the guard, take some extra time to also visit here. But don't expect that much.

While we were there,, there was a Brazilian show which was interesting but again--nothing in English--written in Portuguese and Spanish and tough to follow at times. The images were interesting and there was certainly a lot to see in the exhibit--there were three parts of the exhibit. There were vendors set up in the central "plaza" selling hand made items. Many were quite interesting. Worth a visit depending on what is there--I did not see any permanent collection and we could not get into the Palacio part while we were there--we kept getting conflicting stories. We also went to the restaurant there which had appetizer size empanadas that were yummy--we had the meat ones and the cheese ones and a cup of cappuccino each--and they brought water without being asked! But the food in the café was excellent if different from the standard empanadas.

Politically interesting and historically significant building and site. Not really too much to see though. Was under pretty tight police control when we were there late Oct 2014.

Learn the history of the events that have happened at the Palacio de la Moneda before you. The Cultural Center is an added bonus to this area and the plaza is a nice public space.

Underground the Presidential Palace, this center is a great addition to the downtown area.Some good restaurants. Parking. Local (upscale) handcrafts. And the cultural center, that curates some excellent expositions.

I had read a lot about the exhibitions here and a Chilean friend had recommended that we visit. The day we visited, however, there was almost nothing to see in the Cultural Center, as most of the rooms were closed. I don't know if they were between exhibitions or not. The building itself is interesting and we enjoyed the small free museum in the back right corner of the entrance level. There is no charge.

The Chilean contemporary art exhibition was enjoyable as was the temporary (?) Brazilian naive and contemporary art exhibition. The day we visited there was also a craft market in the free access area of the centre which had some good quality merchandise.

Excellent if you like admiring a mix of modern art exposition and traditional native handmade items. Also has other expositions, but they are paid attractions.

It is a bit surprising to realize that this huge building is where Allende was attacked. It is both the Parliament, which is very well guarded by soldiers, but, on one end, where one takes a ramp down, there is access to a museum and various shops. We haven't seen the museums, but there is one shop where we found beautiful silver jewelry and beautifully woven shawls and rugs. We love these kinds of things and highly recommend it for those of you who like quality crafts.

It is a highlight of our visits to Santiago. The changing of the guards at "La Moneda" Presidential Palace is worth standing there for half hour. It is a wonderful show, if you could call it that. The ceremony is done every other morning. If you miss it on your touring day go back the next morning. Find out at what time it is. Check with the concierge at your hotel.The beautiful Plaza de la Constitucion (that is the proper name) is in front of the Palace.

My boy were so interested to see inside the centre. They loved the maze at the door, and exploring through all the rooms. There was a variety of old and new arts and crafts to look at. Also it has extended opening hours, so it was convenient to stop in there on the way back to our hotel after exploring further afield.