Viña del mar or Garden City

Viña del Mar is located 8 km from Valparaiso, but nowadays both are together and connected. It is at 120 kilometres from Santiago.

The important touristic affluence that occurs during summer has promoted during the last years a significant development in this beautiful garden city.

A unique architecture, the beautiful parks, squares and the long beach between Caleta Abarca and Concon, are some of the attractions you can find in Viña.

Acapulco beach and Vergara pier

Viña del Mar History

Francisco de Riveros own these lands as a prize of conquest. When he died his son Alonso inherited the lands and he planted an extensive vineyard, which gave the name to the city of "Viña del Mar". Later the widow of Alonso donate the area to the Jesuits, but when they were expelled they gave these lands to Francisco Cortes y Cartavio.

At the beginning of the XIX century the area had new owners, Juan Antonio de la Carrera and his wife Nicolasa Aguirre Boza, who sold these lands to the Portuguese merchant Francisco Salvador Alvarez in 1840. He joined the two most important properties in the area: The land of Viña del Mar, near the coast and The Seven Sisters, near the hills.

Quinta Vergara

His wife, Dolores Perez loved plants and vegetation. She began cultivating plants in her own garden and ended developing an exotic park, called Quinta Vergara. When they died their son inherited these lands. He was a sailor who travelled around the world especially to the East and Australia bringing back from his trips new and exotic plants and trees.

Mercedes Alvarez, his granddaughter was the only heiress of these lands.

In the middle of the XIX century, Jose Francisco Vergara studied the possibility of constructing a railroad to Viña del Mar, but he needed to talk with Mercedes Alvarez, because the train would pass through her lands. The story says they fell in love and got married.

Jose Francisco Vergara was the owner of Viña del Mar.

The Intendant of Valparaiso gave him the record foundation of the city in 1874.

Many families from Santiago and Valparaiso came to settle, since it was easy to travel to Viña del Mar by train. At the beginning people came here for picnic and to enjoy the beach, but later on they came to settle.

Few years after the foundation of the city, Viña del Mar had its own City Council, Church, Sporting Club and The Big Hotel.

The Earthquake of 1906 destroyed the Port of Valparaiso and many families move their homes to Viña del Mar.

Big Palaces were built in the XX century like: Quinta Vergara, Quinta Rioja, and Carrasco Mansion. Later was built the Municipal Theatre, OHiggins Hotel, Presidential Palace "Cerro Castillo", Municipal Casino and the coast road to Concon.

Nowadays tourism is very important and visitors are welcome during the whole year.

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