Sport and Lifestyle in Santiago

Less than most people expect, until you head for the mountains. An hour on a padel court runs a few thousand pesos a head once four of you split it, tennis courts and five-a-side pitches are similar, and the parks, the river path and the cerros cost nothing at all. A gym membership is the steady monthly outlay. Skiing is the outlier: lift passes and hire in the Tres Valles resorts will take more in a weekend than a month of anything else.

Padel above all, which went from nowhere to courts across the eastern comunas in a few years. Running has grown alongside it, with organised groups on Cerro San Cristobal and the river path most evenings, and cycling has followed the spread of the protected lanes. Trail running and ski touring have picked up as the Andes became a weekend habit rather than a season ticket.

Parque Bicentenario in Vitacura is the flat, scenic favourite. Cerro San Cristobal is the hill session everybody does, with a paved road to the top. The Mapocho 42 path runs the length of the river and links most of the eastern neighbourhoods. Run early in summer and check air quality before winter sessions.