A day out in Viña del Mar, Chile

Last week we spent a day out in Vina del Mar; two museums which required two cafe stops. We started our trip with a second breakfast of coffee and medialunes at Cafe Libertad. This streetside cafe is in a bustling neighborhood on a main street so it’s not super quiet. It was good for people watching, though. The group of old dudes is a common sight at these type of places – the group composition will change while you watch with typically 4 to 6 guys at any time. One or two are the ‘anchors’; they’ll stay the whole time while the rest of the seats fill and empty as a variety of characters stop for 2 to 20 minutes.

We missed that sort of thing when we last visited the US, not least because we kind of avoided coffee shops after a couple of sticker shock experiences. Two cappuccinos and 2 pastries shouldn’t be US$20 but apparently that’s just the new normal in the US. In Chile – under US$10 and the suggested tip was 10%.

After second breakfast, we wandered over to Museo Fonck…

We didn’t have any real expectations of this museum; we didn’t do much research at all. The name included ‘archeological’ and that was the only hook we needed. We’re getting a bit burned out on ‘Natural History’ and ‘Modern Art’ museums. Although for very different reasons.

Museo Fonck (Museo de Arqueología e Historia Francisco Fonck) was a pleasant surprise; there was a decent amount of info on the Rapa Nui / Easter Island. Including a small Mo’ai out front that was apparently brought over in the 1950’s.

While the majority of the exhibits are labeled in Spanish only, many of the Rapa Nui / Easter Island artifacts included English translations

Since it is an archeological and natural history museum, most of the exhibit space is given over to those specialties. Artifacts include weapons, fishing and hunting tools, pottery and skulls.

The upper floor is almost all natural history. Bugs and butterflies and taxidermy birds and animals. There is a gallery devoted to Antartic exploration and the Chilean base in Antarctica. It never even occurred to me that Chile would have a naval base on Antarctica but I guess since it’s just right there off the southern tip of the country, it makes sense they would be involved in the scientific activities.

The insects and butterflies display is thorough and laid out in a pretty easy to follow way. It is all in Spanish, though. This is not a museum designed to draw in a lot of tourists; it’s a more authentic experience than many that we’ve visited.

There are a few penguin colonies along the Chilean coast; Valparaiso / Viña del Mar is a popular spot to take tours from.

Admission to Museo Fonck is inexpensive at CLP4500 for adults (US$8.96 for both of us) and we spent almost exactly an hour here.

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After Museo Fonck, we stepped over to Cafe Bonito for a light lunch of ham and cheese croissants. And, of course, more coffee. Slightly more expensive than the morning snack but a great value at just under US$14 for the lot. (CLP6900 for each of us at CLP1004 per US$1)

Palacio Rioja is listed as a ‘decorative arts museum’ and we feel like that is a bit misleading. There is an exhibit on the main floor dedicated to the textiles industry and that is technically decorative art. The reality of Palacio Rioja is that is the former home of an extremely wealthy family and what you’re seeing there, while much of it is decorative, is a look at very early 20th century opulence.

Admission is free and guided tours are the standard here, there were very few people here when we visited so we had the tour guide to ourselves. Our understanding is that when it is busier there may be a wait to join a tour. Our guide spoke very good English so that helped us quite a lot. Be aware of the break in opening hours – they are closed between 13:30 and 15:00 which was perfect for us to have a casual lunch and arrive for the afternoon hours.

Decoration of the various rooms in Palacio Rioja ranges from relatively simple to over the top ornate; mostly by room function. The bedroom has simpler design elements than the ballroom or the reception rooms. The furniture in the dining room and in the study is very finely crafted and even more ornately carved than that of the bedroom or bathroom.

The plaster work and carvings in some of the rooms are simply stunning. Detail areas range from simple dentil moldings to truly unreal casts and carvings.

The bedroom-sized bathroom was cutting edge for its time and dominated by imported tiles and fixtures

The dining room and ballroom make extensive use of columns and arches

Reception rooms flank the hallway leading to the ballroom. One side is pink, the other pale blue and these rooms were designed to eliminate privacy. They were primarily used as a place for the daughters of the family to meet with potential suitors

Artwork and sculpture throughout the house leans strongly toward French styling

It is beautiful and we recommend a visit if you’re in Valparaiso / Viña del Mar although if you’re on a tight timeline we wouldn’t class Palacio Rioja as a ‘must see’.

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