Chile's astronomical capital and the gateway to the Elqui Valley — where La Serena sits 470 km north of Santiago on the Pacific coast at the edge of the Atacama transition zone (where the hyperarid Atacama gives way to the semi-arid Norte Chico), and the Elqui Valley (30 km inland — a narrow river valley in the pre-Cordillera where the atmosphere is so stable and transparent that 40% of the world's observable sky is accessible from its telescopes) is home to the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (the Southern Hemisphere's first major international astronomical facility, 1962) and the Gemini South Telescope (one of the two largest optical telescopes in the Southern Hemisphere), the Pisco Elqui village in the valley is the centre of Chilean pisco production (pisco is a clear grape brandy legally and diplomatically disputed between Chile and Peru), the Avenida del Mar (a 7 km beach promenade lined with palm trees, restaurants, and summer residences of Santiago's middle class) makes La Serena Chile's major beach resort, and 29 of the 32 colonial-era churches built in the 17th–18th centuries in La Serena's historic centre are still standing
La Serena (230,000 city; 430,000 metro) is the capital of the Coquimbo Region and the second-oldest continuously inhabited city in Chile, founded in 1544 by Juan Bohón (the same year as Santiago, two years before Concepción) — a colonial city on the Coquimbo Bay that is the centre of Chilean astronomy, the Norte Chico's primary beach resort, and the gateway to the Elqui Valley wine and pisco region.
La Serena was founded in 1544 and has the distinction of being one of the few Chilean cities rebuilt after its original population was destroyed — the Diaguita people and their allies destroyed the first settlement in 1549, killing the founder Juan Bohón. The rebuilt city was protected by a series of church-building projects (the 29 surviving colonial churches in the historic centre date from this period) and grew as a silver-trade hub for mines in the Atacama. The Elqui Valley, 30 km inland, became internationally significant after the installation of the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observat…