Neighbourhood Paris-Londres
The neighbourhood is located between the streets of San Francisco, Alonso Ovalle, Serrano and the Alameda in Santiago center, having Paris and Londres as its main streets.
The origin of this district lies in the sixteenth century, belonging to the Franciscans of Chile, who then sold a part of this to private persons. The mid-twentieth century, was linked to high-income families in Santiago, with its important residences of renowned architects like Cruz Montt and Larraín Bravo.
In the year 1922 the architects Roberto Araya and Ernesto Holymann broke the traditional structure of the civic center of the city, covering its streets with cobblestone and constructing buildings, which are not exceeding five stories, what led to the creation of an important cultural neighbourhood and a meeting point between prominent artists and intellectuals like the poet Pablo Neruda.
Despite being a tourist place, the offer is scarce, even though there are many hostels, residential apartments, office buildings and small cafes in semi pedestrian streets. However, close by in the La Alameda you can find various services.
The area has been a mixture of events throughout the history, such as a torture center in the 70’s, which was known as “Cuartel Yucatán” (Londres 38), Moreover there were bookstores, punk music events in the 80´s, hotels, cafes, educational institutions, restaurants, offices and the political headquarter of Concertación de Parditos por la Democracia y Partido Socialista de Chile, which was declared a Monumento Histórico de Chile. In the Londen Street 65 you can find the Instituto Chileno de Investigaciones Genealógicas, where also specialized library in genealogy is.
The neighbourhood Paris – Londres has been declared a Zona Típica in 1982 to protect the unique style of the neighbourhood.
How to get there: Metro Station Universidad de Chile, Metro Line 1.
More information about the neighbourhood Paris - Londres of Santiago can be found in Wikipedia.