The Casa de Isla Negra is one of three houses owned by Pablo Neruda and the most personal of the three — the one he chose to be buried at. It sits directly above the rocks where the Pacific crashes, and Neruda built it over four decades into a rambling, low-ceilinged labyrinth designed to feel like the interior of a ship.
Inside, his collections take over: ships' figureheads salvaged from wrecks, hundreds of glass bottles, seashells, butterflies under glass, old maps, narwhal tusks, an enormous wooden horse. The Fundacion Pablo Neruda runs the museum and you visit on a timed guided tour with an audio guide. Book ahead in summer; the parking lot fills up with weekend visitors from Santiago. The cafe and bookshop next door are run by the foundation and overlook the same coastline.