Cusco is a city that unexpectedly stole my heart when I was visiting last month! I was so wrapped up in hiking the Inca Trail and witnessing Machu Picchu that I barely did any research for our weekend in Cusco. I actually love that I didn’t know anything because I was so pleasantly surprised and it made it even better! This city is amazing and to prove it, it is constantly growing. Just ten years ago it only claimed 330,000 residents and this year there are close to 500,000! Cusco is surrounded by the Andes Mountains and has a crazy elevation of 11,152 feet (3,400 meters), so keep in mind when you are visiting you will most likely be short of breath and you could develop altitude sickness. We took altitude pills just in case and I am so glad we did after witnessing some friends get sick!
A few facts about Cusco.
Sometimes spelled Cuzco or Qosqo, Cusco used the be the capital of an empire spanning half of South America! Also, many don’t know this but it was built in the shape of a prancing Jaguar, it’s called the “Archeological Capital of the Americas” and as of 1983, it is
You’ll notice the clouds in a lot of my pictures, yes it was gorgeous and the sun came out a lot but once the clouds covered it got a bit chilly. So, I recommend bringing a jacket if you decide to visit in December.
These 15 suggestions are what you can do right in the city of Cusco. Next week I will write a post on Day Trips you can take from Cusco because there are some amazing ones, but they will require getting in a car, bus or train for a few hours to reach them.
All photos are mine taken with my iPhone unless stated otherwise.
Plaza De Armas
Plaza de Armas is a great place to start your exploring in Cusco. If you are wanting a guide, scroll down and I will give you information about a free walking tour, but if you are looking to explore the Plaza de Armas by yourself, here are some great things to check out when doing so!
Cathedral de Santo Domingo
Although there are two cathedrals in Cusco, the Cathedral of Santo Domingo, was Cusco’s first cathedral, so people simply call this one The Cathedral. We learned they broke ground for this cathedral in 1560 and built it on red granite blocks that were once part of an Incan Palace.
The inside is gorgeous!
Convento de Santo Domingo
Also known as, Qurikancha, Convento de Santo Domingo was once the most important temple in the Inca Empire: The House of the Sun. It is pretty crazy to think that at one point all of the walls of this palace were covered in solid gold! If you are interested in Inca history this is something you don’t want to miss. You can either walk through by yourself or hire a private guide.
There is also the courtyard, that yes, unfortunately, the gold is not there anymore but it is still beautiful and you can walk through it on your own! (in busy months this will be flooded with tourists, get here early!)
Iglesia de la Compania de Jesus
This is a gorgeous church to walk through and it’s one of the main attractions of Cusco. This has even been named one of the most beautiful baroque-style churches in the South and North America. This church was actually built by the Jesuits to try and outdo the Cathedral de Santo Domingo, so you will see a ton of comparisons.
Twelve Angled Stone
This is something awesome, free and easy to see because you can literally see it while walking to shop or get a meal somewhere. The twelve-angled stone is actually an archeological artifact and was part of a stone wall of an Inca Palace! It’s a five-minute walk from Plaza de Armas and it’s actually right around the corner from one of my favorite restaurants in Cusco, Cicciolina.
I get it, you’re probably like, “OK? A wall with big rocks?!” But just think about someone cutting these giant rocks and building a palace with them, pretty awesome if you ask me! The stones are pretty similar to the ones you will see at Convento de Santa Domingo
Free walking tour
I always recommend a free walking tour when visiting a new city. You will be approached by many people offering them but I really love the company Free Walking Tour. I have used them all over the world and they hire awesome locals that speak great English and can teach you a lot about the history of Cusco! The tours are 2 hours long and in
*Please remember to tip your tour guide- they strictly work for tips and are awesome!
San Pedro Market
Visiting the San Pedro Market was one of my favorite things to do in Cusco! There are many locals doing their shopping here and you can get all kinds of great gifts for great prices as well! You can either walk through this on your own or book the cooking class we did (scroll down) and they will guide you through to buy ingredients for your dinner!
Drink A Pisco Sour
The pisco brandy is something that is still fought over between Chile and Peru. They each say they were the inventors but after visiting Peru and learning about it I am on Peru’s side until I visit Chile and they prove me wrong! A Pisco Sour resembled a margarita for me and you can have them blended or shaken. Take it to the next level and make your own Pisco sour- scroll down the learn more about our cooking class!
Taste Peruvian Cooking Class with Christian
This is our favorite thing we did in Cusco! Christian is an amazing chef who was trained at Le Cordon Bleu Australia and then brought his talent back to his home country of Peru and started teaching cooking classes! I am currently writing a post about the class in full detail so if you are interested in doing it, check back in a couple of weeks!
This class is 4 hours and includes a guided walk through the San Pedro Market (where Christian buys ingredients for dinner). Then, you learn how to make pisco sours, ceviche, alpaca and a local fruit parfait with some of the most amazing whipped cream I have ever had! And although he guides you through it, you make everything yourself! It’s even more awesome when you have a great group like we did! This class is $69 dollars per person (SO worth it) and you can either book him on Airbnb experiences or on TripAdvisor, HERE.
Chocolate class with ChocoMuseo
We didn’t partake in a chocolate cooking class but we wish we would have after meeting new friends and hearing how much they loved it. You’ll learn how to make your own chocolate and take a tour of the museum and the chocolate workshop. They teach you the whole process from bean to bar! Apparently, Peru makes some of the finest chocolate in the world. I bought some at the market and it was pretty amazing, so I believe it! The tours start at $25 and are located right in downtown Cusco. To learn more and book with the highest rated company, click HERE.
Get a Massage at Paramatma
You’re going to get approached by hundreds of woman asking you if you want an hour massage for about $10. I didn’t take the risk of it not being great but heard from some people that theirs were good and others they were terrible! But, if you want to spend a bit more ($40 for an hour or $60 for 90 minutes) go see Dhruva at Paramatma Holistic Healing. I believe he can connect with the body in a way that very few can. After getting massages in almost 40 countries, he gave me one of the best massages I’ve ever had and he is #1 on TripAdvisor for a reason! My mama is a massage therapist so I feel like that’s a pretty good indicator. You can learn more on his website, HERE.
Buy Everything Alpaca
There are so so many places to buy Alpaca everything in Cusco. I’m not going to give specifics because we probably walked into over 20 stores when we were there. If you see something you like or a market that looks good just hop in and do some searching! Just a heads up they will typically drop down at least 40% of where they start with price. If they won’t budge you can find someone else who will. Also, the 70% alpaca sweaters range from $4-$20 and real baby alpaca anywhere from $50-$300 depending on the brand for sweaters and quality. It’s kind of a guessing game to be honest.
Yes, alpaca is awesome but there are many other things to buy that are awesome as well in Cusco! Like turquoise from Peru from one of my favorite people I met in Cusco, Saul. It took me an hour to choose which one I wanted! He is right next to the restaurant, Organika, just a
Indulge in the Local Food and Drink
I’m not going elaborate a ton here because I am working on a post all about the awesome food in Cusco! But if you are heading there soon and/or only have a few days, my top recommendations are: Three Monkeys for awesome local coffee, Cicciolina for breakfast, Ceviche Kitchen for lunch and Organika for Dinner.
You can also stop by Greens Organic (located right next to Plaza de Armas) and try some local Sacred Valley beer!
If not, the local beer, Cusquena is good enough and you can get it everywhere. I love the labels!
Planetarium Cusco
We didn’t make it here because of time but we did see some gorgeous stars on our walks home! On a clear night here, it’s easy to see the Milkyway thanks to the elevation of the Andes. I definitely recommend reserving a few hours at the planetarium if you have time. You can do so and learn more on their website, HERE.
If you do these next two
Sacsayhuamán
Just a few minutes outside of Cusco, there are remains of Inca Ruins called Sacsayhuamán or Sacsayhuaman or Sacsahuaman or Saxahuaman or Saksaywaman, no but seriously I have seen it spelled all these ways. When I asked a few locals what the correct spelling was they all said something different. So I guess we will never know. 🤷♀️ Either way, it is known as the ancient military fortress of the Inca. If you walk up to it, it will take you about 30-45 minutes to get there (but keep in mind the elevation). This is not something I would do on your first day in Cusco, g
The ruins are cool if you aren’t going to be able to visit Machu Picchu or any other surrounding ruins but if you only have a few days I’d say you can skip this entirely. Keep in mind the Spanish tried to destroy most of the Incan history so there isn’t much of this left but it’s still a fun half day trip if you have the time, but I wouldn’t say it’s a must-see.
One exception to that. If you are here for Inti Raymi, which is the Festival of the Sun. This happens once a year and attracts thousands of locals and tourists to Sacsayhuamán for a festival from sunrise to sunset. This occurs around the winter solstice so if you are visiting that time of year I definitely recommend it. The pictures of the costumes, food, and music look amazing!
Cristo Blanco
If you do make your way up to Sacsayhuamán you can walk just 10 minutes to the huge statue of Jesus Christ, called Cristo Blanco. (You can see it from down in Plaza de Armas if you look up!) Our guide told us this designed by a local artist named Francisco Olazo Allende, and it was actually a gift from Arabic Palestinians refugees, who came to Cusco after World War II. There’s a fence around it so you can’t get that close and the statue isn’t that cool but the view of Cusco makes the hike up so worth it!
Have you been to Cusco? What was your favorite thing to do!? Make sure to check back in the next few weeks for more Peru focused posts!
