One of the views from the top of the tower

Santiago is now home to the tallest building in Latin America, the Costanera Sur or Gran torre Santiago. Standing at 300 metres high it beats the previous contender, in Caracas, by a good 75 metres.

Last year saw the opening of the top floor observation deck Sky Costanera and for 5,000 pesos (around £5/US$7) you can take the fast elevator to the top and get some amazing views of Santiago and the surrounding mountains (or some days, if the city is having a bad day, just the pollution).

Luckily on the day I went up it was bright and clear.

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The tower is surrounded by a huge shopping mall, which also has the distinction of being the largest shopping mall in Latin America. This is where Starbucks, Zara, Top Shop and all the usual suspects ply their trade (along with a few lesser known South American stores). There is a great supermarket on the ground floor, but apart from that I wouldn’t particularly recommend the shopping centre. It is merely a huge mall with the same shops selling the same goods at more or less the same prices as you would get anywhere in the world.

I enjoyed the tower though; well worth the money.