Monasterio de San Francisco

Lonely Planet review

The Monasterio de San Francisco is famous for its catacombs and its remarkable library, where you can see thousands of antique texts, some dating as far back as the conquistadors. It also has a very fine museum of religious art.

The underground catacombs are the site of an estimated 70,000 burials and the faint-hearted may find the bone-filled crypts unnerving - if only for the conservationists' bizarre decision to rearrange the skulls and femurs into striking rings of concentric circles. The building, which is one of the best preserved of Lima's early colonial churches, was finished before the earthquake of 1687 and withstood both this and the quake of 1746 better than many others. However, the 1970 earthquake caused considerable damage. Much of the church has been well restored in its original baroque style with Moorish influences. Admission to the monastery includes a 45-minute guided tour. Spanish-speaking tours leave regularly, and there are hourly tours led by English-speaking guides.