As a land transport hub, Osorno offers excellent access to some of the lake district’s most popular summer resort areas. Among them are Lago Puyehue, Termas de Puyehue, and other lesser hot-springs resorts in its vicinity, Parque Nacional Puyehue, and the northern and western shores of Lago Llanquihue, including the picturesque towns of Puerto Octay and Frutillar.

Despite its colonial origins, Osorno has few really venerable sights—the so-called Distrito Histórico west of the Plaza de Armas includes mostly early-20th-century landmarks such as the restored Francophile Estación de Ferrocarril (1912); it now houses the Museo Interactivo de Osorno (Portales 901, tel. 064/221916), a hands-on science museum open 9:30 a.m.–1:45 p.m. and 3:30–7:15 p.m. weekdays except Monday, and 11 a.m.–1:45 p.m. and 3–5:45 p.m. weekends.

Other area sights include the restored Sociedad Molinera de Osorno, a flour mill now occupied by a pasta factory, and many weathered private residences. A modest standout is the ramparts and towers of Fuerte Reina Luisa (1793)—all that remains of the erstwhile colonial fortress at the foot of Eleuterio Ramírez.

The de facto historic district, though, is on Juan Mackenna between Avenida Matta and Freire, where half a dozen pioneer houses are national monuments: the Casa Mohr Pérez (Mackenna 939), the Casa Enrique Schüller (Mackenna 1011), the Casa Sürber (Mackenna 1027), the Casa Germán Stückrath (Mackenna 1047), the Casa Federico Stückrath (Mackenna 1069), and the Casa Conrado Stückrath (Mackenna 1095).

The Museo Histórico Municipal (Av. Matta 809, tel. 064/238615) exhibits diverse materials ranging from Paleo-Indian archaeology and Mapuche culture to Osorno’s colonial founding, its destruction at the hands of the Mapuche and subsequent refounding, the 19th century city and immigration, and naval hero Eleuterio Ramírez. A natural-history room and a new child-oriented interactive basement display round out the features.

Occupying the former Schilling Buschmann residence (1929), a handsome neocolonial building, the municipal historical museum is open 9 a.m.–5 p.m. weekdays all year and 3–6 p.m. Saturday except in summer, when weekend hours are 11 a.m.–7 p.m. Admission is free.