Ascensor Polanco
Valparaíso's only truly vertical elevator. It passes through a 150-m tunnel before rising straight up to a tower, and the Cerro Polanco hill it serves is also a hub of street art.
The Polanco elevator opened in 1916 and is a Chilean National Monument. From Simpson Street on the flatlands, you enter an underground tunnel about 150 m long, then take the elevator roughly 60 m straight up to a wooden tower. The tower connects by a footbridge to Cerro Polanco, with views over the city and bay. In recent years Cerro Polanco has hosted several street art festivals, and its alleys and walls are covered in large murals, with fewer tourists than Cerro Alegre. It is rather far from the city center, so it is safer to visit during the day.
Opening hours
Daytime operation; check on site
Nearby sights
- Mercado Cardonal
- Open Air Museum of Valparaíso
- La Sebastiana (Neruda's House)
- Dissidents Cemetery
- Muelle Prat
- Palacio Baburizza
- Valparaíso Hills (Cerro Alegre & Concepción)
- Plaza Sotomayor