Closely resembling San Francisco, Valparaiso, a city on the coast of Chile, is rich in history (and full of backpackers). Once Chile’s most popular port city, Valparaiso’s wealth grew with the California gold rush, and the city expanded around the surrounding hills. Each hill (cerro) is lined by steep and narrow streets, though funiculars (ascensors) and cable cars provide an alternative to climbing up from the port. 

Although the port’s production diminished significantly with the building of the Panama Canal, which eliminated the dangerous trip around Cape Horn, the city’s Victorian style homes remain. Each is painted a different color, and rumor has it that sailors painted their houses in bright greens, oranges, and yellows so that they could be easily identified when sailing back into the port after a long trip at sea. The city was declared a World Heritage Site in an attempt to preserve the colorful houses and ascensors, though the recent rise in graffiti and murals (a tourist attraction itself) along the streets and on the historical buildings has sparked a debate about what the city heritage really means.

In a place where seafood restaurants are open past midnight and bars and clubs only open at 1-2am, it is hard to find anything to do before noon the next day, but we took advantage of the free Picasso exhibit, walking tour, and the boat ride along the colorful port.