A day to spare in Santiago – what should I see and do?

Q What would you recommend doing if you only had one day in Santiago, Chile?

Janice T

A Santiago is a rare South American capital that is beautiful, relaxed and enthralling. I imagine you may be constrained by a connection in the Chilean capital between a flight and a cruise. If you can stretch your stay, please do. But anyway, here’s my ideal day in the city.

Santiago is best seen on foot. Begin at Plaza Vicuna Mackenna, just as the gates leading to Cerro Santa Lucia open at 9am. This steep hill provides formidable views across the city. As you climb, appreciate flamboyant architectural flourishes such as the Neptune fountain. From the summit, descend (with the help of the elderly ascensor (lift) to the foot of the hill. Cross the road and go west on Calle Huerfanos. This charming, mostly pedestrianised street is rudely interrupted by the Pan-American Highway – here known as Chile Route 5.

Before you reach the motorway, turn left along Calle Morande to the Plaza de la Constitution – one of the city’s many squares – and beyond it, the mighty Palacio de la Moneda. A statue of Salvador Allende commemorates the democratically elected socialist president who was overthrown in a 1973 coup, and died here when he refused to leave his palace.

By now, you will have worked up an appetite. North of the rather gloomy cathedral, La Piojera (“the flea”) is a much-loved Santiago institution, which calls itself “El Palacio Popular”.

Spend the afternoon appreciating Chilean culture. The Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino occupies a handsome colonial structure and displays artefacts from civilisations that existed long before Europeans arrived. The Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes contains Chile’s best collection of 19th- and 20th-century works by the nation’s artists. Equally impressive, though, is the structure itself: opened in 1910 to celebrate Chile’s first centenary of independence, and radiating a certain swagger.

For dinner, I like the value and atmosphere of the Bar Nacional 2 at Calle Bandera 317, close to the corner with Huerfanos. Neither the interior nor the staff seem to have changed since the 1980s. The menu is short, the steaks succulent (and a bargain at around £16) and the service brisk – which may be just what you need for a short stay.

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Q My friends and I hope to fly to Istanbul next October for some late sun and culture. I’ve heard easyJet are axing flights in 2026 from Manchester and Bristol, two airports we’d really like to use. Another friend hopes to fly from Edinburgh. What are our options now? We’d prefer to use a low-cost carrier.

Sarah S

A Your destination and timing are excellent. But flights with easyJet from both Bristol to and Manchester to Istanbul end on 27 March 2026. I imagine Britain’s biggest budget airline was not able to make the routes pay as “point to point” links, given the intense competition from giant Turkish Airlines. If you can travel in early spring, I am seeing a fare of just £67 return on easyJet from Manchester to Istanbul, flying out on 13 March for a week.

Assuming you are set on October, fares are likely to be much higher. From Manchester, Pegasus has a fare of £131 return on 12 October for a week. Pegasus is a low-cost carrier that serves Sabiha Gokcen airport, on the Asian side of the Bosphorus. Reaching the city centre is more awkward and expensive than from the shiny new Istanbul airport. The latter has a fast and cheap Metro connection to the city centre.

Turkish Airlines is charging fares around twice as high, but for that, you get superior service. Next October, Turkish Airlines has three daily flights from Manchester to Istanbul, giving you plenty of choice on timing. In the economy, the service is akin to business class on other airlines within Europe. You might feel £260 return is a reasonable price for premium service. From Edinburgh, the fare is much higher, at £430 return – so your friend might want to travel to Manchester airport on one of the direct trains to join you there. These allow two pieces of cabin baggage, which should work for a short break.

Birmingham is available at £280 return. If, though, you are prepared to travel to London Gatwick, then Wizz Air will get you to Istanbul and back for barely £100 return. But note that this is with minimal cabin baggage. British Airways charges £166 return from London Heathrow, but has a generous free allowance of two 23kg bags. My preference: Turkish Airlines from Manchester, followed by BA from Heathrow.

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Q My wife and I have never been to Morocco and are planning to remedy that next year. Our plan is to spend four or five days in Marrakech, which feels like a “safe” place to start. Would you agree?

Patrick V

A In my observation, more tourists go to Marrakech than all the other cities of Morocco combined. The “rose city” is well set up to welcome visitors. Plenty of riads – traditional mansions built around courtyards – have been converted into tourist accommodation, and there is an abundance of more conventional hotels. The 77-metre minaret of the 12th-century Koutoubia Mosque towers over proceedings. At the heart of the city: the Unesco-listed medina, a maze of alleys, souks and dwellings. You can escape from the hyperactivity into the tranquil Jardin Majorelle, once the abode of fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent.

Yet for a first visit to Morocco, I would steer you away to cities that I regard as less touristy and more authentic. Thankfully the number of flights between the UK and Morocco has multiplied in the past few years, which means you can begin and end a trip more or less where you like.

Start in Tangier, a gateway to Africa that has a superb waterside location, an old quarter draped across a hill and more tranquil French colonial quarter. It is the northern terminus of Africa’s only high-speed railway, which runs south to Rabat. Morocco’s capital is elegant, friendly and serene, with a lovely old quarter looking across the ocean. Just an hour south by train, Casablanca is the commercial capital of Morocco. I enjoy its life, colour and style. For somewhere that is even more intense: try a couple of days in the chaotic and joyful city of Fez, where the souks have barely changed in centuries.

Add in the chance for some Sahara exploration in and around the city of Ourzazate, or an escape to a dreamy ocean resort such as Essaouira, and you may feel that Marrakech can wait for another day.

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