Concepción

Concepción is the second largest city of Chile with a population of almost 227,000 (out of Concepción province's 946,000) as of 2016. It is on the coast of Southern Chile.

For other places with the same name, see Concepción (disambiguation).

Understand

Concepción was founded by Pedro de Valdivia in 1550 north of the Bío-Bío River, at the site which is today known as Penco. At that time it was given the name Concepción del Nuevo Extremo.

More than once the city has been destroyed by earthquakes and tsunamis. One in 1570, another on the 25 May 1751, at which point it was decided to move Concepción further from the sea to its present location in the Mocha Valley.

The Universidad de Concepción was founded in 1919, and has its main campus in the city. It was the first private university in Chile. The neighbouring harbour of Talcahuano holds the largest naval base in the country.

The Gran Concepción is the name that receives the whole metropolitan area, which includes Talcahuano, Hualpen, San Pedro de la Paz, Chiguayante, Hualqui and Penco.

Get in

By plane

You can fly to the city via LAN or Sky Airline.

By car

The famous "Carretera Panamericana", also called "Ruta 5 Sur", there is a very good route from Santiago, meeting international standards for the most part. Drive south from Santiago to near Chillan city (approx 5 hours), then take the "Ruta del Itata" to west for about an hour.

By bus

You can take buses every half an hour from Santiago from CLP$5000. Buses are the fastest form of public transport in Chile. Unlike Europe, train services are scarce and the journey take 2-3 times longer than bus.

There are at least two non-stop express services that connect Santiago and Concepcion, EME Bus and PullmanTur (do not confuse with PullmanBus) they take no more than 5 hours. Fares can vary from CLP$4,000 to CLP$12,000. It depends on the season and day of the week.

By train

There are trains that link Santiago and Concepción. The trip takes 4½ hr to Chillán. There is a change to bus (included in the ticket price) that takes you to Concepción.

Get around

The transportation system has buses and shared taxis services that reach every single place in the metropolitan area. there is a commuter train service (BioTren) that reaches the surrounding areas.

The following is the list with the public transportation services in The Gran Concepcion:

Talcahuano (through Concepcion-Talcahuano Highway) Vía Láctea (Line 10), Via Futuro (Line 11), Via Siglo XXI (Line 13), Chiguayante Sur (Line 14), Via Universo (Line 16), Nueva Llacolen (Line 20), Ruta Las Playas (Line 30), Buses Campanil (Line 50), Las Bahías(Line 70), Las Galaxias (Line 80)

Talcahuano (through Colon Avenue) Vía Láctea (Line 10), Via Futuro (Line 11),Nueva Sotrapel (Line 12), Vía Siglo XXI (Line 13), Chiguayante Sur (Line 14), Via Universo (line 16), Nueva Llacolen (Line 20), Ruta Las Playas (Line 30),Ruta del Mar (Line 31), Buses Ruta Del Mar (Line 32), Buses Campanil (Line 50) , Buses Geminis Sur (Line 52), Base Naval (Line 56), Denavi Sur (Line 57), Mi Expreso (Line 62), Las Bahías (Line 70), Las Galaxias (Line 80), Via Del Sol (Line 81)

Hualpén (through Concepcion-Talcahuano Highway) Las Golondrinas (Line 40), Buses Mini Verde (Line 41) and Mini Buses Hualpencillo (Line 42).

Hualpén (through Colon Avenue) Nueva Sotrapel (Line 12), Ruta Las Playas (Line 30), Las Golondrinas (Line 40), Buses Mini Verde (Line 41), Mini Buses Hualpencillo (Line 42), Flota Las Lilas (Line 43), Flota Centauro (Line 44), Buses Tucapel (Line 60), Buses Cóndor (Line 65), Buses Puchacay (Line 71), Vía del Sol (Line 81), among others.

San Pedro de la Paz Nueva Llacolen (Line 20), Riviera Bio Bío (Line 21), San Pedro (Line 22), Buses San Pedro del Mar (Line 23), San Remo (Line 24), Las Golondrinas (Line 40) and Rengo Lientur (Line 63).

Chiguayante Vía Láctea (Line 10), Via Futuro (Line 11), Nueva Sotrapel (Line 12), Via Siglo XXI (Line 13), Chiguayante Sur (Line 14), Via Universo (Líne 16), Expresos Chiguayante (Line 17), Buses Palomares (Line 18), Las Galaxias (Line 80) and Vía del Sol (Líne 81).

Penco Expresos Chiguayante (Line 17), Ruta Las Playas (Line 30), Ruta del Mar (Line 31), Buses Ruta del Mar (Líne 32) and Mi Expreso (Line 62).

Hualqui = Las Galaxias (Line 80), Buses Palomares (Line 18) and Vía del Sol (Line 81).

just inside Concepción Buses Pedro de Valdivia (Line 72), Buses Tucapel (Line 60 Z & M) and Rengo-Lientur (Line 63).

See

Chiflon del diablo

Electric plant in Chivilingo

The Huascar in Talcahuano's Bay

• Universidad de Concepción (University of Concepción). A beautiful university with big gardens. Must see La Pinacoteca.
• Museo Hualpén (Hualpén museum). A beautiful old house that was converted to a museum holding the collection of Mr. Pedro del Rio Zañartu, a world traveller.
• Old mining operations. 40 km south of Concepción is an old mining town or Lota that offers tours of an old coal mine.
• Chivilingo. Near Lota is the Chile's first electric plant, today a beautiful museum and picnic area.
• The Huascar, at the naval base in Talcahuano, the Huascar is a ship that was captured from the Peruvian navy in a war in the late 1800s. It is a symbol of Chilean national pride and is the oldest floating historical relic in the world. Visit the museum to learn more.

Do

• Learn Spanish, because of its weather, friendliness of its people and many students around, this is a great place to learn spanish. Several schools are available, such as HelloChile ([e-mail]).

Sports

• Regional Stadium, it is the main and biggest stadium in The metropolitan area.it hosts Universidad de Concepcion and Deportes Concepcion matches, a ticket price can vary from CLP$2,000 to CLP$5,000 depend on the match.
• CAP Stadium hosts Huachipato's matches, a ticket is more expensive, CLP$4000 as it has very comfortable accommodations.
• El Morro Stadium, a historical English design stadium, is the hosts for Naval. During the 1960s the Brazilian superstar Pele played with his team Santos. Destroyed by the 2010 earthquake/tsunami. Not advisable to visit.
• Federico Schwager Stadium, the host for Lota Schwager. It's been abandoned, so it is not advisable to visit.

Buy

Concepción is not a touristic city so if you are looking for cheap and cheerful souvenirs you will have to use your imagination.

• Mall Plaza Trebol. On the highway to Talcahuano. Take a bus from Concepción centre or a colectivo. A large North American inspired shopping mall complete with food court, cinema and amusement arcade. Home to shops like Zara, Puma, Lacoste and Lush as well as several larger department stores. 
• Galerías, these are various shopping arcades located within the centre of the city mainly on Barros Arana and Maipú close to the Plaza de Independencia ( de Armas). Full of inexpensive little clothing stores, beauty salons, hairdressers and any other kind of store you can imagine. Clothing etc tends to be poor quality and the bargain prices reflect this. Popular with locals and worth exploring on a rainy day.

Eat

• La Fuente Alemana, O'Higgins with Rengo (a block or so from the Plaza de Armas and Cathedral)- the go-to place to eat the completos which Chileans love so much. (completos = a hotdog with mayonnaise, tomato and avocado). Go downstairs for a quick snack or upstairs for table service.
• Waya´s Gyros, Plaza Peru, Greek-inspired salads and wraps. Healthy and delicious food. Kuntsmann beer is also available by the pitcher so bring some friends, grab a table outside and enjoy!
• Mercado Central, the city´s main market is full of little restaurants serving up good seafood dishes and other Chilean traditional meals qith fresh produce. Comfort food in an albeit slightly grubby looking location.
• 30 Express, Plaza Peru, empanada specialists serving every flavor combo imaginable. Good beer is also readily served up here. Clean, good service and friendly staff.
• La Fina Estampa, San Martin with Angol, Peruvian restaurant serving good fresh seafood and great Pisco Sours. Quite a sophisticated place but the pricing is reasonable.
• Tijuana, On the way to Santa Juana (take a car/taxi), Mexican food. All you can eat on Thursday nights and Sunday lunchtime. While the food is more like a Chilean take on traditional Mexican food, it is delicious and has a great atmosphere with lively music and friendly staff. Tijuana express is in the Plaza Peru - a much smaller venue and limited menu but just as good.

Drink

Concepción is full of bars and nightclubs so try the traditional Pisco Sour cocktail, a Piscola or even a beer from the German settled south of the country.

• Pub Quebec,Janequeo 115, Located next to the main entrance to the Universidad de Concepción, this place cannot be missed! Beer deals before 21:00 - 2 for CLP$900 and free popcorn for every table. Full of students and young people. Great atmosphere.
• Latitud Sur, Víctor Lamas 401, probably one of the more sophisticated bars in Concepción´s centre. Great artesenal beers made in the on-site microbrewery, beautiful interior and a decent food menu. The price reflects the atmosphere though.
• Reggio, great pub located in Pedro de Valdivia- best night to go is on Thursdays.
• Bar Bonita, Rengo 1624, great bar, you cannot really notice it's a bar from outside, but once you'll get in you'll love it. Live music and sketches on Wednesdays for a small entrance fee.
• Gala, in the Barrio Estacion, this place is always packed on weekends and is frequented mainly for it´s nightclub located in the basement. Usually drinks deals are available on Piscolas.
• Choripan, probably the only bar with a pub feel in the Barrio Estacion. Decent live band playing covers of the Doors, Pink Floyd, etc. Drinks can be pricey so come for happy hour before midnight.
• Pub Neruda, on the Diagonal (close to the Plaza Peru) a really relaxed bar which is usually full of a lively young crowd taking advantage of the good prices on litres of beers. The bar´s interior is inspired by the poetry of Pablo Neruda and gives the place a chilled, cool atmosphere.
• Blass, Orompello 269, A no-frills interior leads to a relaxed crowd of 18-30s that frequent this place. Happy hours are extensive and can be found in evenings and in the early hours of the morning. Their homemade ponche is worth a try.

Sleep

• Hotel El Araucano, Caupolicán 521. A very comfortable hotel, on the Plaza de armas. (updated Feb 2019)
• Hotel Alborada. A hotel with a nice "green" entrance, three to four- star environment.

Stay safe

The city is generally safe, however:

• Be aware of pickpockets and avoid wearing expensive-looking jewelry or watches, even during the day.
• Do not visit Talcahuano's seaport, Hualpen and near areas in the night, especially on weekends.
• Other residential areas such as Chiguayante, San Pedro de la Paz, are worth visiting but have their dangerous places also, so be careful when going unaccompanied by people who live there or know well the place.

Respect

• Population is very tolerant and friendly.
• As the rest of country, this city has largely conservative Catholic and protestant population but Freemasonry has an important influence in culture, education and business here.
• Very strong social movements and political activity, sometimes heavily polarizated, be careful while discussing topics such as Pinochet's regime or Pacific war.
• Mind your vocabulary, in contrast with the rest of Chile, Concepcion is highly populated by university students, so they can understand if you are talking in English. Avoid unnecessary comments about the city and people.

Go next

• Tomé, a seaside town about 30 min from Concepción centre by bus. The town itself is fairly forgettable, but go in the spring or summer to enjoy the beautiful beach.
• Dichato, a popular beach in the Bio-Bio region, about 45 minutes from Concepción. Surrounded by a large forest, with a long beach and delicious seafood.
• Reserva Nonguén, a natural reserve, 20 minutes by car from the city center. Untouched native forests and endemic animals such as the Rana de Darwin, Pudú, etc.
• Península of Hualpén, visit an old whale factory in Chome or a white sanded bay called Ramuntcho.
• Lenga, go and eat seafood in this seaside town about 15 min from Concepcion by car and 35 min by bus (Puchacay, Line 71). This will take much longer as it doesn't take the highway, but is cheaper (US$0.80). Try some seafood empanadas or mariscal caliente in one of the numerous eating places. These restaurants do not accept credit cards, so bring cash. El Viejo Lobo del Mar is recommended.
• Hualpen Museum and the Desembocadura (rivermouth of the Bio Bio river, inside "Parque Pedro del Rio Zañartu" this museum has a big variety of archaeological, natural and historical pieces of collection. The only way to get into this place is by car or taxi, do not pay more than CLP$10,000 for a single ride, in this case ask the taxi driver for "Museo Hualpen".
• Parque Pedro del Rio Zañartu, 10 min from downtown it offers beauty natural landscapes and recreational places. 5 minutes far you can see the join of Bio Bio river and the Pacific ocean, you can get into by car or taxi (same fare as Hualpen Museum)
• Marina del Sol Casino,a new building for gambling and entertainment, 5 min from the Airport and 15 min from Downtown. It offers a big variety of games and shows for adults and kids.
• Chillan, a ski town located about 2 hours from Concepción. Home to a large volcano with great skiing so visit in the winter or enjoy the thermal spas heated by the volcanic waters year-round.
• Isla Mocha is an island that can be reached from Tirua, a journey 5 hours south by bus.
• Santiago, the capital is a 6-hour bus journey away and buses run frequently so if you need a taste of the big city life, it´s not too far.