i agree that santiago can be more interesting than some travelers say, but it can often be unpleasant and unhealthy depending on the air quality while visiting. since the city is in a valley, air pollution concentrates in the city and supposedly is one of cities with the worst air quality in latin america. last year they had multiple air quality emergencies and had to restrict the circulation of automobiles. since the worst months for air quality are supposedly from march to september, it would be wise to visit between october and february if you want to reduce the probability of suffering an air quality emergency. here´s a link to newspaper article from last year:
http://www.elpais.com/articulo/inter...lpepuint_3/Tes