Cathedral Museum

It displays in its three rooms (Sacristy, Chapter Room and library) valuable religious images, such as the mueble de los ornamentos, the atril de plata, a representation of Christ's "last supper", and baroque lecterns, among other things. It also possesses valuable manuscripts dating from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries.
Address: Cathedral, Plaza de Armas s/n
Opening hours: Only Mondays from 10.30 a.m. to 1 p.m., and in the afternoons from 3 to 6 p.m.

Colonial Museum of San Francisco

It contains priceless collections of religious and colonial art. Paintings, pieces of wrought gold and religious imagery are displayed in its seven exhibition halls, of which the most important is the Gran Sala (Great Room), featuring a giant painting (180x260x400 cms.) representing the birth, life, miracles and death of Saint Francis of Assisi.
Address: Londres 4
Telephone: 639-8737
Web: www.museosanfrancisco.cl
Opening hours: Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 1.30 p.m. and from 3 to 6 p.m. Sundays and holidays from 10 a.m. through 2 p.m.

National Historical Museum

In its 16 rooms almost 12,000 items are on display that illustrate Chilean history from the appearance of the first human population up to our days. The collection includes archaeological items, furniture, musical instruments, maps, photographs, numismatics, paintings and an interesting arms exhibit. Founded in 1911, it has been located since 1978 in the Palacio de la Real Audiencia, which housed the main law courts in colonial times.
Address: Plaza de Armas 951
Telephone: 638-1411 / 633-0462
Web: www.museohistoriconacional.cl
Opening hours: Tuesdays to Sundays from 10 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. Holidays from 10 a.m. to 1.30 p.m.
Entrance fee: adults 600 pesos, children 300 pesos. Free daily for pensioners. Free on Sundays.

"La Chascona" House Museum

This was the home of the Chilean bard Pablo Neruda, Nobel Prize in literature, who had it built on the slopes of Mt San Cristobal, after he married Matilde Urrutia. In addition to its special design, an exhibit of some of the poet's manuscripts, objects and paintings that he acquired and canvases given him by painters Siqueiros and Rivera can be admired inside the building.
Address: Fernando Marquez de la Plata 019, Barrio Bellavista
Telephone: 777-8741
Web: www.uchile.cl/neruda
Opening hours: Guided visits each half hour, arranged by calling 777-8741

Interactive Museum (MIM)

This is one of the most important in the world of its kind. It has 14 rooms and over 300 exhibitions of science, art and nature, educating visitors in an entertaining way through sense stimulation. It was inaugurated in March 2000, and receives 50,000 visitors a month.
Address: Sebastopol 90, Parque Brasil (Comuna de la Granja). Avenida Vicuña Mackenna, stop 13.
Telephone: 280-7812 / 280-7862
Web: http://www.mim.cl/
Opening hours: Tuesday through Sunday from 9.30 a.m. to 6.30 p.m.
Entrance fee: adults 3,000 pesos, children 4 to 12 years old 2,000 pesos, senior adults 2,000 pesos, students 2,000 pesos (with credential attesting nature of student).