Framed by snowcapped peaks, this is the little town that grew a lot.
Santiago de Chile is a modern metropolis with a shiny face and has one of South America's most dynamic economies. At the same time, struggling street vendors board city buses to hawk everything from pins to ice cream, and housemaids ride for hours to scrub floors and change nappies in exclusive suburbs.
First and foremost, smog-blighted Santiago is a city of commerce, but there are rewards for the patient traveler - its thriving culinary and artistic enclaves are a joy to discover, and less than an hour away are world-class ski resorts, famous beaches and the colorful port city of Valparaíso.