Things to do
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Cusco Cathedral
Built between 1559 and 1654 using stone from a nearby Incan temple. Contains 16th and 17th-century oil paintings, including works depicting the Last Supper with local foods, and a famous wooden altar.
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Plaza de Armas
Central square of Cusco surrounded by colonial arcades, built on the foundations of the Incan Aucaypata. The Cathedral and Church of the Society of Jesus frame two sides; shops and restaurants occupy the colonnaded perimeter.
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Cristo Blanco
A white statue of Christ erected in 1945 on a hilltop overlooking Cusco from the south-east. The monument stands 10 metres tall and is visible from much of the city.
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Cusco Museum
The pre-Columbian art museum housed in the Admiral's Palace, a colonial mansion containing pottery, textiles, and stone sculptures from Inca and earlier Andean cultures.
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Cusco Plaza de Armas
Central civic plaza ringed by colonial buildings, the Cathedral, and the Church of the Jesuits, built on top of an Incan ceremonial space. The square remains the social and geographical heart of the city.
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Feria Artesanal
Permanent outdoor market occupying several blocks north of the Plaza de Armas, with hundreds of stalls selling alpaca goods, ceramics, masks, and textiles aimed at both tourists and local buyers.
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Qorikancha
The most important religious structure of the Inca Empire, built in the mid-fifteenth century in Cusco and dedicated to the sun god Inti. The site features precisely cut granite walls; colonial Spanish buildings were later built atop the Inca stonework.
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Sacsayhuamán
Massive Incan fortress complex built in the 1400s on a hilltop 2 kilometres north of Cusco. Features enormous precisely-fitted stone walls built without mortar, arranged in three parallel terraces.
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Museo Inka
Houses the largest collection of Inca artifacts in the world, including textiles, ceramics, and metalwork spanning pre-Columbian to colonial periods. Occupies the 16th-century Palacio Almirante (Admiral's Palace), a colonial mansion built atop Inca foundations.
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Convento de Santo Domingo
A 16th-century Spanish Dominican convent built directly atop the Qorikancha (Inca Temple of the Sun), preserving and displaying Inca stone foundations and architectural precision beneath colonial structures. Contains religious art and colonial-era furnishings.
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Museo de Arte Precolombino
Specialized collection of pre-Columbian art from across the Andean region, with emphasis on Inca, Nazca, and Moche cultures. Housed in a 17th-century colonial mansion with thematic, well-curated galleries.
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Catedral Basílica de la Asunción
Built between 1559 and 1654 using stones quarried from the Inca fortress of Sacsayhuamán, this cathedral contains colonial religious paintings, silverwork, and architectural fusion of Spanish and Inca design principles. The interior preserves Cusco School paintings and gold leaf altarpieces.
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Museo del Sitio de Qorikancha
An on-site museum at the Qorikancha archaeological complex, 5 miles south of the city centre, displaying artifacts discovered during excavations of the Inca Temple of the Sun and its surrounding structures. Features metalwork, stone tools, and contextual displays explaining the site's ritual and astronomical significance.
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Museo Machu Picchu
Houses the largest collection of artefacts from Machu Picchu, including ceramics, textiles, and stone tools excavated by Hiram Bingham's 1911 expedition. The museum occupies a restored colonial mansion in the historic centre.
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San Blas neighbourhood
Historic indigenous quarter of Cusco, uphill from the Plaza de Armas, with narrow cobblestone streets, colonial and Incan walls, small art galleries, and the Church of San Blas dating to the 1560s.
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Iglesia de la Compañía de Jesús
A Baroque church completed in 1668, renowned for its ornate interior with gold-leafed altars, indigenous-influenced carvings, and the Cusco School paintings that blend Christian iconography with Andean symbols. The exterior Baroque facade is one of Peru's most photographed colonial buildings.
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Museo de Arte Religioso
Occupies the 16th-century Archbishop's Palace and displays colonial religious art, vestments, and liturgical objects from Cusco's Archdiocese, with particular strength in Cusco School paintings and indigenous interpretations of Christian imagery.
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Museo de la Coca
A small, privately curated museum documenting the history of coca cultivation, its ritual and medicinal use in Andean cultures, and its role in colonial and modern Peru. Includes leaf specimens, textiles, and ethnographic objects.
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Museo Historico Regional
Exhibits Cusco's history from pre-Inca through 20th-century periods, with collections of archaeological finds, colonial documents, and ethnographic materials illustrating regional development. The Casa Garcilaso colonial mansion houses the collection.
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Museum of Pre-Hispanic Art
Houses the finest collection of pre-Columbian ceramics, textiles, and gold artefacts in Peru, including Moche, Nazca, and Incan pieces. Installed in a 16th-century colonial palace.
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San Blas Church
Small colonial church in Cusco's San Blas neighborhood, built in the 16th century with a single nave and gilt baroque altar. The pulpit is carved from a single block of wood.
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Kenko
Limestone shrine and ceremonial center three kilometers from central Cusco, featuring carved channels and a small underground temple. Likely used for water rituals and astronomical observations.
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San Blas Neighborhood
A historic quarter uphill from Plaza de Armas featuring narrow cobbled streets, colonial mansions, artist workshops, and the Church of San Blas. The neighbourhood preserves Inca street layout beneath Spanish colonial buildings.
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San Blas Neighbourhood and Viewpoints
Historic district on the hills above Cusco's main plaza, featuring narrow colonial streets, artisan workshops, and multiple overlooks offering vistas of the city and surrounding mountains. Elevation around 3,500 metres.
