Such a shame I have to rate this urban oasis three stars, since my time was great otherwise. Coming into the park from the entrance by Lourdes, which perhaps isn’t a widely-used entry point (but STILL), a field at the corner of the park adjacent to a small bordering street was littered with trash. Literal trash. No one to bother to clean it up. Being one of the very first things I saw inside the park, first impressions weren’t content. Please help me understand why the city has allowed this…could it be from a strong wind or something?? Trash flew out a dump truck and onto this large patch of grass? I’d really like to envision some kind of reason behind this, albeit there won’t ever be an excuse for litter in any park. After noticing the dirt, my experience in the park was fine; the grounds were calm and verdant. Several high school-age groups were hanging out after school let out (all in school uniforms), eating snacks or riding skateboards, which brought a feeling of contained liveliness to the place. I never felt alone. I always felt safe, too. It all was actually quite wonderful after the trash incident…just with that sour taste still in my mouth. I truly hope someone will spearhead the cleanup of that one part of the park and get it taken care of before more foreigners (and Chilean tourists, too, of course!) see it and get a poor first impression. For now, and arguably even without the trash, Parques Metropolitano and Bicentennial are going to be on a higher level than Quinta Normal…so be sure to prioritize visits to those. If I return to this one in the future, I’ll be checking to make sure that trash is gone. Litter makes me sad.

Whether it's to visit the museum, to get away from the hustle and bustle of a mega city of to spend a morning watching the birds and parakeets, this place is a delight !