Two blocks from the Plaza Mayor stands the Church and Monastery of San Francisco, one of the finest examples of colonial architecture in the Americas and part of the Historic Center of Lima, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The church was completed in the 17th century and is famous for its yellow façade and its Baroque portal.
What you will see
- The cloisters: decorated with Sevillian tiles from the 17th century and paintings of the life of Saint Francis.
- The library: a beautiful wooden hall with thousands of ancient books, some printed in the first centuries after the Spanish conquest.
- The Moorish-style dome: carved in cedar wood above the main staircase.
- The catacombs: the most famous part of the visit.
The catacombs
Beneath the church lie the catacombs, which served as the city’s cemetery during the colonial period, before Lima had a general cemetery. Thousands of bones, arranged by the monks in geometric patterns, can be seen in the underground galleries. The visit is fascinating, but the passages are narrow and low.
Visit San Francisco
The guided visit takes about 45 minutes. Photographs are not allowed inside the monastery and the catacombs. San Francisco is included in our Lima City Tour from Callao Port, our City Tour and Larco Museum and our Lima Private City Tour.