La Serena, Chile

For the metropolitan area in Chile, see Greater La Serena.

La Serena
City and Commune
Archbishopric of La Serena, Court of Appeals, Landscape, Japanese Park, Plaza de Armas, Lighthouse, Avenida Francisco de Aguirre, Fountain of the Plaza de Armas, Court and the Plaza and University of La Serena (Campus Colina El Pino)
Flag Coat of arms La Serena's urban hinterland La Serena Location in Chile
Coordinates (city): 29°54′S 71°15′W
Country	Chile
Region	Coquimbo
Province	Elqui
Founded	1544
Named for	La Serena, Spain
Government
• Type	Municipality
• Alcalde	Luis Henríquez (a)
Area
• City	1,892.8 km2 (730.8 sq mi)
Elevation	28 m (92 ft)
Population  (2024)
• City	212,884
• Density	112.47/km2 (291.30/sq mi)
• Urban	401,938
• Metro	513,000
• Municipality	263,144
• Rural	12,333
Demonym	Serenean
Sex
• Men	77,385
• Women	82,763
Time zone	UTC−4 (CLT)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−3 (CLST)
Postal code	1700000
Climate	BWk
Website	www.laserena.cl (in Spanish)

Preview warning: Page using Template:Infobox settlement with deprecated parameter settlement_type. Replace with type.

Preview warning: Page using Template:Infobox settlement with deprecated parameter pushpin_map_caption. Replace with pushpin_caption.

Preview warning: Page using Template:Infobox settlement with deprecated parameter timezone. Replace with time_zone.

Preview warning: Page using Template:Infobox settlement with deprecated parameter image_caption. Replace with caption.

Preview warning: Page using Template:Infobox settlement with deprecated parameter blank_info. Replace with custom_data_sec1.

Preview warning: Page using Template:Infobox settlement with deprecated parameter blank_name. Replace with custom_label_sec1.

Preview warning: Page using Template:Infobox settlement with deprecated parameter timezone_DST. Replace with time_zone_DST.

Preview warning: Page using Template:Infobox settlement with deprecated parameter image_skyline. Replace with image.

La Serena (Spanish pronunciation: [la seˈɾena]) is a city and commune in northern Chile, capital of the Coquimbo Region. Founded in 1544, it is the country's second oldest city after the national capital, Santiago. As of 2012, it had a communal population of roughly 200,000, and was one of the fastest-growing areas of Chile.

The city is an important tourist destination for Chileans and Argentines, especially during the summer, where people go to visit the beaches. It is the headquarters of the University of La Serena and also is home to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of La Serena, one of five Catholic Archdioceses of the Catholic Church in Chile.