Valparaíso, 120 km (74 miles) to the northwest of the capital, is Chile’s most important seaport and an increasingly vital cultural center. Valparaiso is also home of the National Congress. Built upon dozens of steep hillsides overlooking the Pacific Ocean, Valparaíso boasts a labyrinth of streets and cobblestone alleyways, embodying a rich architectural and cultural legacy. Valparaíso is protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is often considered to be one of Latin America’s most intriguing urban areas.

In 2003, the Chilean Congress declared Valparaíso to be “Chile’s Cultural Capital” and home for the nation’s new cultural ministry. Although technically only Chile’s 6th largest city, with 263.499 inhabitants, the Greater Valparaíso metropolitan area, including the neighboring resort city of Viña del Mar, is the second largest in the country (803,683 inhabitants).

Valparaíso played an important geopolitical role in the second half of the XIX century, when the city served as a major stopover for ships traveling between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans by crossing the Straits of Magellan. Always a magnet for European immigrants, Valparaíso mushroomed during its golden age, when the city was known by international sailors as “Little San Francisco” or “The Jewel of the Pacific”.