La Catedral or The Cathedral, of Arequipa is located on the Plaza de Armas or Main Square of Arequipa. It was built out of sillar (a white volcanic stone) in the Renaissance style architecture featuring two towers and one Gothic vault. It is one of the most representative monuments of Arequipa and one of the maximum expressions of Neo Classic architecture in Peru.
The Cathedral is open Mondays through Saturdays from 7:00 am to 11:30 am and from 5:00 pm to the 7:30 pm. Sunday from 7:00 am to 1:00 pm and 5:00pm to 7:00 pm.

La Iglesia de la Compañía or The Church of the Company was built by the Jesuits in the 17th Century dating back to 1698.
The temple, a two level structure typical of the European churches of the 16th and 17th century, features half point vaults and columns that hold up the superior floor. Inside the church you will find a luxurious golden altar in a Mestizo Baroque style, a beautiful pulpit also 17th Century style and more than 60 paintings of the Cusco School.
Its pulpit hand carved in wood and painted by an anonymous indigenous artist is known as the Sistine Chapel of Arequipa. Its Mestizo inspired facade features colorful and streamlined ornaments with vine leaves, bunches of grapes, flowers, birds, angels and indigenous masks with hairdos adorned with long multicolor feathers.
It is located at the crossing of the Streets General Moran and Alvarez Thomas (facing the Plaza de Armas Main Square) and is open to the public from Mondays to Sunday from 9:00 am to 11:00 am and from 3:00 pm to the 6:00 pm.

El Convento de Santa Catalina de Siena or The Convent of Santa Catherine of Siena was founded in 1580 and constructed in the second half of the 16th century and is one of the most important colonial convents of Peru. Opened to the public in1970 nuns can be seen as you walk through the small walled city with its’ narrow streets and passages on your way to the town square.
This miniature city combines the white stones of sillar with other Inca like colors such as ochre, indigo and orange that emphasizes the austere, serene atmosphere of the convent.
The history of its foundation relates back to a woman called Doña Maria de Guzmán, a distinguished and devoted widow that for 20 years fought and petitioned for the construction of the convent. The design of the convent emulates a small city, with narrow labyrinth-like streets. Surrounded by tall and thick walls of sillar ashlar, the monastery is divided into two great structures, called the “old convent” and the “new convent”.
Within the “City of Sillar” another name for the convent, one can admire religious painting of the Cuzco and Quito Schools. As you walk by the sleeping quarters the kitchen and the laundry facilities of the nuns, you will get a deeper understanding of the self-sacrificing life in a convent.
It is located on the Santa Catalina Street 301. It is open to the public from Monday to Sunday from 9:00 am to 4 pm.

La Iglesia de San Agustin or The Church of Saint Agustine was built in 1575 and it is known to be the best architectural expression of the Mestizo Baroque style of the 17th Century. Constructed with white sillar ashlar, the church features massive elaborate entrance doors, colonial painting, Neo Classic style altars hand carved and painted with gold leaf. Although erected in 1575, San Agustín was almost completely destroyed by an earthquake in1868. Early in the 19th Century a reconstruction process began in which an attempt was made to restore its original lines and details.

It is located on the intersection of the Streets San Agustín and Bolivar.

La Iglesia de San Francisco or the Church of Saint Francis is of the Mestizo style with Mudejar influences and was built in 1569. Its original design included a single vaulted nave (central approach to the high altar) and a sanctuary with a cupola dome.
After an earthquake struck in 1687, the temple was remodeled and expanded using sillar ashlar stone. Several centuries later, in 1960, San Francisco was once more rebuilt in an effort to restore its original design. Inside the church one can appreciate the Baroque Spanish architecture that was typical of that time. The church also features an impressive library containing more than 20 thousand books and a gallery of paintings.

The church is located on the first block of Zela Street and is open to the public from Monday to Saturday from 7:00 am to 9:00 am and from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm. The Convent is open to the public from Monday to Saturday from 9:00 am to 12:30 pm and from 3:00pm to 5:00pm

La Iglesia y Convento de Santo Domingo or The Church and Convent of Saint Dominic, was the first convent in Arequipa and therefore the oldest. After several reconstructions due to earthquakes, the façade of Santo Domingo still captures the original construction emphasizing the elaborate stone carvings of vines, roses, cantuta flowers and angels with trumpets. In the interior one can admire outstanding religious paintings and fine images of saints and virgins.

It is located at the intersection of Santo Domingo Street and Rivero Street. It is open to the public from Monday to Saturday from 7:00 am to 12:00 pm, and from 3:00 pm to 7:30 pm. Sundays it opens its doors at 5:45 am until 2:00 pm and from 6:30pm to 7:30 pm.

El Convento e Iglesia de La Merced or The Convent and Church of Mercy dates back to 1548 and was constructed mostly of out of sillar a volcanic stone found in Arequipa, is also known as the “House of God” featuring an image of the Virgen de la Merced or Virgin of Mercy on its front gates.
In the interior an altarpiece of Churrigueresque style is just magnificent. Equally interesting is its capitular hall with two bodies, one of them shows a vault split in four and the other makes an impact by its Gothic style of the 17th Century. One will also find paintings of the Viren de la Merced and an impressive colonial library.
The church is located at the intersection La Merced and Tristán Streets.

El Convento la Recoleta or The Recoleta Convent was founded in 1648 and features Romanesque and Neo Gothic architecture styles typical of the 16th century Franciscan order. Its rooms and four cloisters hold the collections of the Archaeological Museum, Anthropological Museum, Natural History Museum and the Religious Arts Museum. One will also find a library specializing in religious subjects, with more than 20 thousand volumes.
It is located on the Jirón Recoleta 117 and can be visited from Monday to Saturday from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm and 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm.