Viña del Mar Chile Travel Pictures

Viña Chile, Reñaca, Seals, Churches and Cats

Viña del Mar Chile, on the Pacific coast across the bay from Valparaiso is a popular for its resorts, beaches and longstays, with lots of condos, row houses and B&Bs, You'd be hard pressed to find a room without a great view! Related: traditional Chilean foods and seafood; What to pack for Chile trip, Pablo Neruda Museum, Casablanca winery tour.

Viña Chile Across Valparaiso Bay from Valpo

The beaches of Viña del Mar and smaller communities along the coast attract visitors from Santiago on weekends and holidays, swelling the ranks of the 300,000 who call it home.

Lovely to look at and stroll along, the Pacific Ocean is a bit chilly for swimming all year 'round, thanks to the Humboldt Current sweeping the coast north from the Antarctic.

Hillside Homes in Viña Del Mar ~ Narrow lanes and lots of flowers

Cobblestone lanes wind back and forth around the hills in Vina Del Mar, lined with charming flower-bedecked homes and shops.

A number of these homes now operate as Bed and Breakfasts.

Hillside Vina del Mar House is a splash of yellow

A closer look at the house above, with its windows covered with ornate iron grill work covered in blooms.

Along with its lovely neighbourhoods and great seafood, Viña's cooler climate, frequent bouts of chill morning fogs and steep streets reminded me of San Francisco, California.

Two cats on a garden wall in Viña Chile

Cats lazed atop walls, and dogs dozed on sunny sidewalks.

None of these animals 'at large' seemed to take any notice of passing traffic, foot or motor.

Historic Churches in Viña Del Mar

This lovely church took up most of a city block. I loved the style of its window arches, but unfortunately, I don't know the name of this church. (If you do, please leave a comment below.)

In a country almost exclusively Roman Catholic (90 percent), there are a great many of these lovely churches.

Seals on the rocks at Reñaca Chile

The oceanside drive continues north, and rounds yet another cove, so Viña Del Mar seamlessly becomes the town of Reñaca (pronounced Ren-YACKA).

Out in the cove not far from the beach, these seals covered much of the rocks.

Other rocks served as rookeries for shore birds.

Renaca Chile beach early afternoon, November

The beach across the road from our lunchtime seafood restaurant, El Encanto de Reñaca, looked a lovely spot to spend some time.

See also Chile Foods Seafood page for pictures.

The restaurant is a popular lunch stop for larger tour groups, who this day had mainly come from Argentina and Brazil.

Older Viña Del Mar Apartments

Older Vina Del Mar Apartments

This building with its black diamond detailing seemed to be a series of fantastic and optimistic afterthoughts, going ever higher to get sea views.

January and February are high season; November and March are usually the best times to get a reasonably priced resort or hotel.

Viña Del Mar's New Condos still being built

Although La Serena, a seaside town a few hundred kilometers north of Vina and Valpo, is taking more of Viña Del Mar's visitors, many condos were still being built.

You can also find more condos close to the Pacific on the coast south of Valparaiso.

I saw many For Sale signs on houses and condos near El Quisco on a recent trip.

I was told that, following the big 2010 quake, high rises fell out of favour as more people looked for accomodation in one and two storey homes.

This area of the Chile coast has direct highway access from Argentina and Brazil via the tunnel through the Andes at Los Libertadores, thus bypassing Santiago. I webt by bus from Valparaiso/ Vina del Mar to Mendoza Argentina.