Los Dominicos

One of few survivals from colonial Las Condes [1], the Iglesia y Convento San Vicente Ferrer de los Dominicos sits on lands that Pedro de Valdivia himself seized from Mapuche cacique Apoquindo for Valdivia’s mistress Inés de Suárez. Willed to the Dominican order by a subsequent owner, the property deteriorated during more than a century of litigation, but the Dominicans managed to add its twin Byzantine domes in 1847.

Alongside the church, where Avenida Apoquindo dead-ends at Padre Hurtado, Los Graneros del Alba (Av. Apoquindo 9085) is Santiago [2]’s biggest crafts market, also popular for its country cuisine and impromptu entertainment. Popularly known as “Los Dominicos,” it’s open 10 a.m.–7:30 p.m. daily all year. Several buses out the Alameda, Avenida Providencia, and Avenida Apoquindo go directly to the church and market; the quickest alternative is Línea 1 to Metro Escuela Militar and then either the bus or a taxi (about US$4) out Avenida Apoquindo.