La Serena, Chile

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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 / 29.900°S 71.250°W / -29.900; -71.250
Country	Chile
Region	Coquimbo
Province	Elqui
Founded	1544
Named for	La Serena, Spain
Government [1]
• Type	Municipality
• Alcalde	Luis Henríquez (a)
Area [2]
• Total	1,892.8 km2 (730.8 sq mi)
Elevation	28 m (92 ft)
Population  (2012 Census)[2]
• Total	198,163
• Density	100/km2 (270/sq mi)
• Urban	147,815
• Rural	12,333
Demonym	Serenean
Sex [2]
• 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)

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.^[3] 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.