Calle Baquedano is the most concentrated piece of Iquique's nitrate-era heritage: a long, pedestrianised street of two-storey timber buildings in a vaguely Georgian colonial style, painted in pastel colours and lined with cast-iron lamps. Most of the buildings date from the late 19th century, when British capital and Chilean nitrate wealth combined to build an unusually elegant port city in the middle of the desert.
The street has been declared a national monument and a tourist tram runs along it. Several of the buildings now house museums, cafes, and small shops; the Palacio Astoreca on the cross street is the standout. Come in the early evening when the light catches the painted wood and locals come out to walk.