La Serena's old centre is unusually rich in colonial-era and neo-colonial buildings — partly because in the 1940s President Gabriel González Videla, a local boy made good, decreed a citywide architectural style that mandated thick walls, tile roofs, and arches. The result is a town that feels older than it is. Beyond the centre, the long beach of Avenida del Mar and the Elqui Valley are the principal draws.