La Serena is the capital of the Coquimbo Region and Chile's second oldest city, founded by the Spanish in 1544. It sits at the mouth of the Elqui Valley, 470 km north of Santiago, and has a distinctive character shaped by its colonial past and its position in a transitional climate zone between the Atacama and the more temperate south.
The city centre has fine colonial-era architecture — Our Lady of Mercy Cathedral facing the Plaza de Armas, the stone-walled Iglesia de San Francisco and Iglesia de Santo Domingo — and a relaxed pace; the long beach along Avenida del Mar is one of Chile's better city beaches, backed by a palm-lined promenade and the squat Faro Monumental. The Museo Arqueológico holds one of the best pre-Columbian collections in the north, including an Easter Island moai.
The real draw, however, is the Elqui Valley inland — famous for its extraordinary clear skies, world-class astronomical observatories like the Observatorio Mamalluca, pisco distilleries, and the mystical quality that attracted Nobel laureate Gabriela Mistral, who was born in Vicuña up the valley. Day trips into the valley are among the best experiences in northern Chile.