Providencia is the middle-class residential and commercial district east of the centre, where the best of Santiago's everyday life plays out. Avenida Providencia is lined with shops, cafés, bookshops, and restaurants; the side streets have a comfortable, leafy quality that contrasts with the denser historical districts. The Parque Balmaceda and Parque Los Leones provide green patches.
Most long-term visitors end up spending a lot of time in Providencia — it is well-connected by metro (Baquedano, Manuel Montt, Pedro de Valdivia, and Los Leones stations all serve it), the streets are pleasant to walk, and the concentration of good restaurants and bars is as high as anywhere in the city. Avenida Suecia and the streets around it are the core of an older nightlife zone that continues to draw a mix of ages and tastes.