Greater Valparaíso

Greater Valparaíso
Gran Valparaíso
Metropolitan area

Map of the Greater Valparaiso
Subdivision Valparaíso
Viña del Mar
Placilla de Peñuelas
Reñaca
Concón
Quilpué
Villa Alemana
Population
  Total 1.036.127
Cerro Concepción, Valparaíso
Port of Valparaíso
Beach in Viña del Mar
Wulff Castle, Viña del Mar

Greater Valparaíso (Gran Valparaíso) is the second largest metropolitan area in Chile, after Greater Santiago. It takes this name after the city of Valparaíso, the oldest city of the group and the most important harbour in Chile. Its total population is 979,127 at the 2012 census.

Major cities

The agglomeration is composed of several communes (Spanish: comunas), and each is governed by its respective municipality:

Communes

These communes have the following characteristics:

Infrastructure

Education

Gran Valparaíso also has the third largest concentration of universities in Chile. Besides the Traditional Universities, it has several private institutions, including Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Universidad Andrés Bello, and Universidad del Mar.

Transportation

There is a rapid transit light rail system which serves most of the communes in the conurbation: The Valparaíso Metro.

Tourism

The area is a major tourist draw due to the internationally important Viña del Mar Musical Festival, its balnearios (beaches and resorts), and the world's largest pool San Alfonso del Mar in Algarrobo. The Historic Quarter of the Seaport City of Valparaíso is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its cultural significance.

References

    Coordinates: 33°02′46″S 71°37′20″W / 33.04611°S 71.62222°W / -33.04611; -71.62222

    This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, August 22, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.