Chillán has more to it than most travellers expect from a transit city. The Feria de Chillán is one of the best outdoor markets in central Chile and reason enough to stop. The Escuela México contains murals by David Alfaro Siqueiros and Xavier Guerrero — a genuinely surprising piece of Mexican muralism deep in the Chilean countryside. The Museo Claudio Arrau León commemorates the great Chilean pianist born here in 1903.
The main reason visitors come to the Chillán area is the Termas de Chillán, 80 kilometres east in the Andes. This resort complex combines volcanic hot pools, one of Chile's best ski areas (operating June–September), and spectacular mountain scenery. Volcán Chillán, an active volcanic complex near the resort, offers dramatic hiking in summer. The Cathedral of Chillán, a striking modernist structure built after the 1939 earthquake, is worth a look in the city centre.