Greater Valparaíso (''Gran Valparaíso'') is the third largest

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban area, urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share Industry (economics), industries, commercial areas, Transport infrastructure, transport network ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

, after the Greater Concepción and Greater Santiago. It takes this name after the

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

Valparaíso Valparaíso () is a major city, Communes of Chile, commune, Port, seaport, and naval base facility in the Valparaíso Region of Chile. Valparaíso was originally named after Valparaíso de Arriba, in Castilla–La Mancha, Castile-La Mancha, Spain ...

, the oldest city of the group and the most important harbour in Chile. Its total population is 979,127 at the 2012 census, with an area of 401.6 square kilometers.Censo 2012 - Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas
Retrieved March 11, 2015

Major cities

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

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

: *

Viña del Mar Viña del Mar (; meaning "Vineyard of the Sea") is a List of cities in Chile, city and Communes of Chile, commune on Zona Central, Chile, central Chile's Pacific coast. Often referred to as ("The Garden City"), Viña del Mar is located withi ...

* Concón * Quilpué * Villa Alemana

Communes

These communes have the following characteristics: *Valparaíso, Viña del Mar, Concón and Quintero are coastal cities. Villa Alemana and Quipué are located in inner valleys and belong to the group of cities known as ''El Interior'' (The Interior). *Valparaíso and Viña del Mar have traditionally concentrated industrial and commercial activities, while Quilpué and Villa Alemana are primarily residential, and therefore often considered ''ciudades dormitorio'' (sleeper cities).

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 Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...

system which serves most of the communes in the conurbation: The Valparaíso Metro. Bus routes almost always span multiple communes and are organized via the .

Tourism

The area is a major tourist draw due to the internationally important

Viña del Mar International Song Festival The Viña del Mar International Song Festival () is an annual international music festival held every third week of February in Viña del Mar, Chile. Started in 1960 it is the oldest and largest music festival in Latin America, and one of the long ...

, 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

Valparaiso Populated places in Valparaíso Province Coasts of Valparaíso Region {{Valparaíso-geo-stub