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Viña del Mar is a city on the central Pacific coast of Chile, set along the shores of Valparaíso Bay and the valleys of the Reñaca and Marga Marga streams. With 334,871 inhabitants in the 2024 census, it is the most populous municipality in its region and the fourth-largest city in Chile, and it is fully joined to its twin city of Valparaíso.
The city was founded under its current name on 28 December 1874 by politician and writer José Francisco Vergara, who with his wife Mercedes Alvares had inherited the land and hired engineers to lay out its streets. Wealthy families later built palaces and castles here, many of them designed by architect Alfredo Azancot.
Known as the Garden City, Viña del Mar is famous for its parks, its seafront and the Flower Clock below Cerro Castillo. Every February the amphitheatre of Quinta Vergara hosts its International Song Festival, and the city is also home to the summer palace of the President of Chile.
Palacio Vergara was built for Blanca Vergara by architects Ettore and Alejandro Petri on the foundations of the family mansion lost in the 1906 earthquake. Inspired by the Ca' d'Oro of Venice, it opened in 1910, became the fine arts museum in 1941 and reopened in December 2021 after repairs.
Palacio Rioja was built from 1909 for Spanish-born businessman Fernando Rioja by architect Alfredo Azancot, in a large park where he planted species from around the world. Together with its park it was declared a Historic Monument in 1985, and since 1979 it has housed the Museum of Decorative Arts.
Palacio Carrasco was built between 1912 and 1923 for nitrate businessman Emilio Carrasco by architect Alfredo Azancot. Since 1977 it has housed the city's cultural centre, library and archive, and with its park and The Defence by Auguste Rodin in front, it became a Historic Monument in 1986.
Castillo Wulff stands on the shore between the mouth of the Marga Marga and Caleta Abarca beach. German businessman Gustavo Wulff needed a special law to build by the sea and finished it in 1906, inspired by an old mansion in Liechtenstein. It became a Historic Monument in 1995.
The Flower Clock of Viña del Mar is a working clock laid out in flowers at the foot of Cerro Castillo, facing Caleta Abarca beach. Its mechanism came from the Favag factory in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, and the city bought it in 1962, when Viña del Mar was a host city of the football World Cup.
Muelle Vergara is an old industrial pier on the beach of Viña del Mar, built with more than 900 tonnes of iron and opened in March 1895. It was once used to unload coal and sugar, with a warehouse complex and a railway, and is now one of the best-known landmarks of the seafront.
The Presidential Palace of Cerro Castillo is the retreat of the President of Chile and an alternative seat to La Moneda. The president-elect spends the night of 10 March here before being sworn in at the National Congress in Valparaíso, and the palace was declared a Historic Monument in 2005.
Castillo Brunet stands on the northern side of Cerro Castillo and was begun in 1923 for millionaire Rafael Brunet by architects Alfredo Azancot and Jorge Schroeder. All its stones came from France, and it is now a hotel and event venue of the Carabineros, declared a Historic Monument in 2005.
Quinta Vergara is a park with exotic trees from Asia, Australia and California, planted in the 19th century when it was part of a hacienda. The city bought it in 1941, and its open-air amphitheatre hosts the Viña del Mar International Song Festival, the oldest and largest in Latin America.
The Fonck Museum of archaeology and history opened on 25 November 1937 and is named after Francisco Fonck, a German doctor and explorer of southern Chile. Its Easter Island collection is one of the most complete, and an original stone moai brought from the island in 1951 stands at its entrance.
The Viña del Mar Casino is the municipal casino of the city, opened on 31 December 1930 after a push for public works under President Carlos Ibáñez del Campo. The city council declared it a place of historic and architectural interest in 2000, and the Hotel del Mar was added beside it in 2003.
The Valparaíso Sporting Club is a horse racing track in Viña del Mar with a main turf course and a second course of sand. Founded on 1 June 1882 by members of an English racing society in Valparaíso and chaired by José Francisco Vergara, it hosts the Chilean Derby every February.
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