Paseo Atkinson, A walking path and viewpoint in Valparaíso, Chile

Paseo Atkinson is a promenade on Cerro Concepción, a hill in Valparaíso featuring houses built in Victorian English style during the 1880s. The pathway winds between colorful multi-story residential buildings with small front gardens, offering views over the bay and surrounding hills.

In 1825 the British engineer Joshua Waddington, owner of Cerro Concepción, sold plots on this slope to newly arrived British and German immigrants, who built small quintas with orchards. The German Benevolent Society (DWG) bought land for a German school and other institutions. The Esmeralda lift connected the flat city with the promenade between 1908 and 1945.

The promenade is named after Juan Atkinson Mac Farlan, a British-Chilean shipping businessman who financed the row of Victorian houses built in 1886. Each house has its own small front garden and a plain classical facade. Along the walk, artisans and painters set up stalls selling handmade goods, and further uphill stands the Lutheran Church of the Holy Cross.

Reach Paseo Atkinson by climbing stairs from Calle Esmeralda or walking up small streets from the city center, though the ascent is steep. Once there, you will find benches and small cafes where you can rest and take in the views over the port and surrounding hills.

The Esmeralda lift, a funicular, linked the flat city to this promenade between 1908 and 1945. Its route explains why the walk sits 40 to 50 metres above sea level. Beside the promenade lies an empty lot where a playground plaza was planned but never built.