Región Metropolitana, Chile — Towns & Travel Guide

What is Región Metropolitana known for?

Región Metropolitana is known as the capital region of Chile, the only one of the country's 16 first-order administrative divisions that is landlocked. Its pull is the centre. It holds the national capital, Santiago, along with most of Chile's commercial and administrative centres and the country's main international airport, Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport.

Where is Región Metropolitana?

Región Metropolitana is one of Chile's 16 first-order administrative divisions, and the only one of them that is landlocked. That fact alone sets it apart. While every other region of Chile carries a share of the country's long coastline, the Santiago Metropolitan Region sits entirely inland, an interior division with no stretch of sea to call its own.

It holds the nation's capital, Santiago, near its heart, and the built-up ground of the region gathers tightly around that central city rather than along any shore. As an inland region, Región Metropolitana concentrates the country's commercial and administrative life rather than any port or harbour trade. Most of Chile's commercial and administrative centres are located here, and the region also holds the country's main international airport, Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport, the chief point of arrival for travellers to the whole of Chile.

The airport does the work a seaport does elsewhere. Everything of the nation seems to run through this one interior region. In a subtropical band of the country, the Santiago Metropolitan Region reads as a compact division built around a single dominant capital, turned inward on Santiago rather than spread along a coast.

What is Región Metropolitana like?

The culture of Región Metropolitana is the culture of a capital region. Everything centres on Santiago. Because the region contains the nation's capital, it stands as the political, commercial, and administrative heart of Chile, and daily life here is urban, official, and closely tied to the institutions gathered in and around the central city.

This is where the country's decisions are made. Spanish is the language of its streets, as it is across the whole of Chile. As the country's only landlocked region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region turns inward rather than to the sea, and its identity is bound to the capital rather than to any coast or port.

Most of Chile's commercial and administrative centres sit within it, drawing people in from every other region. The capital pulls the country inward. The region is also the country's front door, since Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport brings in the first arrivals of most visitors, so the Santiago Metropolitan Region is often the first and the last piece of Chile that a traveller sees.

Its life is that of the centre, not the edge.

What is the history of Región Metropolitana?

Región Metropolitana owes its shape to the capital at its centre. Drawn as one of Chile's 16 first-order administrative divisions, it took form as the region built around Santiago, the seat of the national government. The centre stayed put.

As the country's only landlocked region, its story has been an inland and administrative one rather than the maritime history of Chile's coastal divisions, and it has long served as the political and commercial core of the nation.

What is the climate of Región Metropolitana?

Región Metropolitana sits in a subtropical band of Chile, inland from the sea. Seasons stay mild. As the country's only landlocked region, it feels a drier, more continental turn than the coast, with warm summers and cool winters over the central ground around Santiago rather than the damp air of the shore.

How do you get to Región Metropolitana?

Región Metropolitana is the easiest part of Chile to reach, holding the country's main international airport. Flights arrive at Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport, the chief point of arrival for the whole country, set within the landlocked region beside Santiago. Most visitors land here first.

From the capital, roads and rail run out to the other regions of Chile, so the Santiago Metropolitan Region serves as the entry point for travellers heading anywhere in the country.