Museo de la Catedral

Top choice in Arequipa


A must for visitors who want to see more of Arequipa's cathedral, the included 45-minute bilingual tour of this 'museum' is actually a peek at the inner workings of the basilica, with an explanation of the impressive 1000-pipe church organ and the symbology and colors employed in religious paintings and ornaments. The rooftop views of Arequipa and its sillar (white volcanic rock) buildings are a bonus.

Enter from the Santa Catalina corner of the Plaza de Armas.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Arequipa attractions

1. Plaza de Armas

0.04 MILES

Arequipa’s main plaza, unblemished by modern interference, is a museum of the city’s sillar (volcanic rock) architecture – white, muscular and…

2. Museo Santuarios Andinos

0.04 MILES

There’s an escalating drama to this theatrically presented museum, dedicated to the preserved body of a frozen ‘mummy,’ and its compulsory guided tour …

3. Iglesia de La Compañía

0.08 MILES

If Arequipa’s cathedral seems too big, an interesting antidote is this diminutive Jesuit church on the southeast corner of the Plaza de Armas. Proving…

4. La Catedral

0.08 MILES

This beautiful building on the Plaza de Armas stands out for its stark white sillar (volcanic rock) and massive size – it's the only cathedral in Peru…

5. Casona Iriberry

0.08 MILES

It's worth a peek inside this casona (large house); the Universidad Nacional de San Agustín (UNSA) is located within its 18th-century colonial halls and…

6. San Ignacio Chapel

0.09 MILES

This chapel's polychrome cupola is smothered in jungle-like murals of tropical flowers, fruit and birds, among which mingle warriors and angels. It's…

7. Iglesia de San Agustín

0.09 MILES

This baroque church was originally constructed in 1575, destroyed in an earthquake in 1868 and then rebuilt by the end of that century. The exterior is…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting:
    {
      "url": "peru/arequipa-and-canyon-country/arequipa/attractions/museo-de-la-catedral/a/poi-sig/1604232/363389",
      "destination": "Arequipa",
      "continent": "South-America",
      "country": "Peru",
      "city": "Arequipa",
      "position": "superzone"
    }