An Afternoon in Santiago???
 

Will have 8 hours to kill between flights.

Can you do much in 8 hours or is traffic prohibitive?

Any recommendations on what can be done for 8 hours?

Im HBO but I assume there isn't a luggage storage facility in SCL?

Human Rights Museum
 

The express bus from the airport drops you in the centre. Allow 40 mn o/w:

https://www.turbus.cl/wtbus/indexCompraAeropuerto.jsf

Not a lot to see (walk around, have dinner?). My PF was the Museo de Memoria et los derechos humanos.

Get a taxi, they're cheap and the traffic is reasonable. Depends on what you like as to what to do. Food is OK, museums galleries. Gardens. Jump on on TripAdvisor and see what interests you. I wouldn't say it's the best city in STH America

I used to do this quite often, I would fly in from MAD and that arrival would miss the connection down to Valdivia so I would mince around the city for the afternoon and get the overnight bus.

It's changed quite a bit over the years but I'd suggest...

Get the bus to Turbus Airport bus to Terminal Alameda. They have a luggage storage facility there that I have used a number of times.

Get the Metro from Universidad de Santiago to La Moneda, have a wander around the centre.

Walk from the centre through to Bellas Artes and onwards to Parque Forestal.

Cross the bridge, walk along Pio Nono, have a beer or a glass of wine. Check your watch to see if you have time to go up San Cristóbal.

Have some eats in Bellavista. Walk back over the bridge to Metro Baquedano, head back to Metro Universidad de Santiago. Get your luggage, get the bus back to the airport.

I used to have a bit longer than you but you definitely have time to do all that without San Cristóbal, probably you can squeeze in the funicular too if you are fast

I take student groups to Santiago twice per year. Here are a few of the things I direct them to see during a 6-hour scavenger hunt. You can get to pretty much everything on the metro (as JohnnyColumbia suggests), all on the red line.

Starting in the City Center, climb Santa Lucia hill (Cerro Sta. Lucía; Santa Lucia metro stop) to the top. Enjoy the view of the city with Universidad Católica in the background across the road.

La Moneda Palace (La Moneda metro stop). Visit La Moneda Museum. If you're there at meal time, I recommend Civico Restaurant in the upstairs corner of the museum (the Wagyu beef and gnocchi is great!).

Plaza de Armas (Main Square) (a short walk from La Moneda). See the statues. Visit the church on the corner. If you speak Spanish, enjoy the political rant that seems to be always there. :)

Take the metro to the Baquedano stop. On the way to Cerro San Cristobal, enjoy the Bellavista neighborhood (great place to grab a drink). At Cerro San Cristobal, ride the funicular, see the Virgen de Inmaculada statue, and enjoy great views of Santiago.

And finally, if statues interest you, take the metro to Los Leones, and then walk north on Ricardo Lyon for 2-3 blocks (just across Andres Bello) to see Parque de Las Esculturas.

If at the end of all this you still have time for dinner, you'll be just a short walk to several excellent restaurants. My current favorite in the Providencia neighborhood is Aqui Está Coco on Av. Concepción. It has great seafood. Reservations: +56 2 2410 6200

Thanks everyone!! :D