1. Our hotel made it so easy to get to places we wanted to go. Even though we basically were staying in the middle of nowhere, it was a piece of cake to get a taxi to any place nearby. Also, there was a free shuttle provided by the hotel that ran during certain nours during the week, so that was cool, too. (Although the woman who drove the shuttle scared me. She always seemed angry when picking us up from anywhere!)
2. There were so many great museums, and they were free! All were within walking distance of the centre of town (except for one that was close to the beach, but I'll forgive it because it was close to the beach!), and they had lots of really interesting things to see. I want to pick a favourite, but really, I liked them all.
3. It's much more beautiful here than it looks. On first glance, Concepción looks like a regular city. Nothing special, very commercial-looking in areas. Then, as you start to explore it, you find beauty hidden everywhere. Like the forest of Endor that showed up while we were climbing a hill. Or the park with a gazebo and fitness stations that we found on the way to the lake. Or the university, which is filled with activity on a Saturday afternoon.
4. The people here are nice. Really nice. I know that's a huge generalization, but pretty much everyone here that we've met (aside from the grumpy shuttle bus driver, and really, she did pick us up and take us places for free, so I can't complain!) has been friendly and pleasant. The hotel staff are always smiling and patient with our Spanglish. A guard at the art gallery gave us free books and encouraged us to wander around the university campus because it was so beautiful. People slowed down in their cars to chat with us when we were walking alongside the road. (Ok, technically the people in the car were Canadian, but since it happened here, I'm counting it as a point toward Concepción.)
5. There are libraries here. One of the things that bothered me about La Serena was that it didn't have a library. Every city should have one! Actually, every city should have more than one! And Concepción does. They may be small, but they're mighty!
If I ever come back to Chile in the future (and I see it as a strong possibility), I could definitely see myself returning to this place.