The outside of the Moneda Palace in downtown Santiago.
The Moneda is Chile’s presidential palace, a building which was built on the site where the national mint used to be (thus the name moneda, which means monetary unit or coin). It is a neoclassical building that faces the Plaza de La Ciudadania. On the back side is the Plaza La Constitución, a plaza full of trees and benches, statuary and loads of uniformed guards. Below are three different ways to see the Moneda on a visit to Santiago.
Changing of the Guard
It’s not Buckingham Palace, but there is a changing of the guard ceremony that happens every odd-numbered day (including weekends) when the guards who have been on duty are relieved by those coming to take their place. There is boot stomping and some calls, as one group pivots out of place and the next return. Come early to get a good viewing spot, as especially when tour groups come, there can be quite a crowd. If the change falls on a week day, the ceremony is at 10 a.m., and if it’s on the weekend, it takes place at 11 p.m. To confirm dates, check out the Moneda changing of the guard calendar. Nearly all walking, biking and other tours of Santiago will take you past La Moneda, including a nighttime tour of Santiago including dinner.
Centro Cultural Palacio La Moneda
Under the Moneda Palace, accessed from the Alameda side, is a relatively hidden cultural center that brings together some of the best art and culture that Chile has to offer, together with exhibitions brought from around the world. It’s the Centro Cultural Palacio La Moneda, and inside there is a large hall, several exhibition spaces, a store with some of the best crafts produced in Chile, such as terra cotta from Pomaire, and black ceramics from Quinchamalí, woolens from Chiloé and carved wooden bowls, also from the south of Chile. There are also two different movie theaters (medium and small) that show Chilean and international films, mainly art films, and those related to culture. There is a permanent exhibit on Gabriela Mistral, one of Chile’s most famous poets. Admission to that exhibit is included with admission to the other, rotating exhibits.
Tours of La Moneda
If you want to get up close and personal with La Moneda, you can take one of the free tours that happen four times a day. If you visit the Moneda Visitor’s page set up by the Chilean government, you can get more details, as well as the email address to write to coordinate the visit, though it might be easier to ask your hotel to arrange it for you, and request a tour in English, if you prefer. The tour starts on the Alameda side, and includes talks about the main courtyards, as well as entry into a series of rooms used for meetings. The rooms are surprisingly simply furnished, though they do have famous portraits of some of Chile’s most important heroes, such as Pedro de Valdivia, Santiago’s founding father. If you’re interested in a more complete tour, make sure to request a tour that includes the “Salón Blanco.” The visit to the second floor, which comes only with this option is where some presidents hold press conferences, and you can spy a plaque commemorating President Salvador Allende, whose reign ended with the September 11, 1973 coup d’etat.
La Moneda is metro accessible, or you can easily stop in on the Hop On/Hop Off tour of Santiago. For a view of the Moneda lit up at night, consider a nighttime tour of Santiago that includes dinner.
Three Ways to Visit Chile’s Moneda Palace from Chile Things to Do
