Plaza Perú sits at the edge of the university campus, a small triangular square that is the social heart of student Concepción. The arched colonnades on the north side house bars, cafés, ice-cream parlours and ethnic restaurants, and the central garden fills up with students from late afternoon onwards.
It's the most reliable place in the city to find a lively atmosphere on a weekday evening, particularly during term-time. The bars stay open late and the square retains a friendly, neighbourhood feel — closer in spirit to a European piazza than the wider, formal plazas of central Concepción.