City Tour of Punta Arenas

Punta Arenas is the capital city of Chilean Patagonia and the departure point for many expeditions to Antarctica. The city was founded in 1848 at the extreme southern end of the continent. Punta Arenas was initially a penal colony and later attracted many immigrants from Europe and the Chilean region of Chiloé.

We will visit the Cerro de la Cruz lookout to see the bright colors of the city roofs, the Strait of Magellan, and the island of Tierra del Fuego on the horizon. Then we will head for the main city plaza, named after former governor Muñoz Gamero. This plaza has been the heart of the city since the end of the 19th century. it features a numner of opportunities for buying souvenirs an handicrafts from the region. In the center of the plaza you will see an imposing statue of Ferdinand Magellan, while the buildings facing the plaza reflect the neoclassical style popular with the early magnates of the regional sheep industry. The tour continues to the Salesian Maggiorino Borgatello museum, one of the oldest in Chile. The exhibits include permanent collections related to local flora and fauna, colonial-era artefacts, Antarctica, the ethnography of the region, an important map collection, local industrial materials, and items from Salesian missions at Dawson Island and Río Grande (Tierra del Fuego). Before returning to the hotel we will also visit the northern sector of the city to take in several noteworthy monuments. These include the famous monument to the Magellanic shepherd, another related to Croatian immigration to the region, and yet another representing the local petroleum industry.