Casa Museo La Chascona

Casa Museo La Chascona, located in Santiago’s Bellavista neighborhood, was the residence of Chilean poet Pablo Neruda and his third wife, Matilde Urrutia. Built in 1953, the house reflects Neruda’s unique architectural style and personal collections. Visitors can tour the house to learn about Neruda’s life and work, view his art collections, and enjoy the café with views of the city. The museum offers audio guides in multiple languages and is a must-visit for literature and history enthusiasts.

Planning your visit

La Chascona was built in secret. Pablo Neruda constructed it in 1953 in the Bellavista neighbourhood for Matilde Urrutia, then his mistress, while he was still married to someone else — the name means tangled hair, after hers. The house climbs the slope of Cerro San Cristóbal in disconnected sections linked by outdoor stairs and paths, so moving between rooms means going outside, and Neruda designed it to feel like a ship, with low ceilings, narrow passages and portholes.

His collections fill it: coloured glass, shells, ships in bottles, folk art, and a portrait of Matilde by Diego Rivera in which a second hidden profile of Neruda appears in her hair.

The house was ransacked and flooded after the 1973 coup, days before Neruda's death; Matilde deliberately held his wake in the wrecked rooms as an act of defiance, and restored it afterwards.

Audio guides in several languages are included and are essential — the objects are meaningless without the stories attached.

Bookable options include private Santiago city tours incorporating the house, and day trips to Isla Negra, his coastal home and the most spectacular of the three Neruda houses, sometimes with lunch. Current availability is shown below.