"The historic city of La Serena" a La Serena Travel Page by Glorija

Chile is regarded as one of the safest countries in South America and La Serena, a quiet, provincial city, lives up to its name in this respect.

There's more to La Serena, the Serene One, than sun, beaches and white sand. There's more to recommend the area than a pleasant year-round climate, pure air, great scenery and superb seafood. La Serena is Chile's second oldest city. Pedro de Valivia founded Santiago in 1541, and thereafter went on to order the founding La Serena in 1543/4 as the sea link between Santiago and Lima. It was fortified against pirates in the 1700s's and enjoyed an economic boom in the 1920's.

During the presidency of Gabriel González Videla, a native of La Serena, the city benefited from the La Serena Plan, an urban renewal project which developed the prevalent architectural style called Colonial Renaissance. Much of the colonial architecture is found around the Plaza de Armas. (city map)
The capital of the second region in Chile's Norte Chico, (map) La Serena is well known for its beaches.