Chacao is one of the five municipalities making up the Metropolitan District of Caracas — a busy, mostly safe commercial and residential district covering Altamira, La Castellana, and the surrounding streets. It functions as something close to the commercial heart of contemporary Caracas: the major banks, the Centro San Ignacio and Centro Sambil malls, the headquarters of many companies, and a higher concentration of working restaurants and bars than anywhere else in the metropolitan area.
For most short-stay visitors Chacao is where you sleep, eat, and do business. The Plaza Chacao at its centre — small, tree-shaded, with a Sunday produce market — gives the district a village feel that survives despite the surrounding skyscrapers.