it's only a short walk from the centre of town, but worth it. they have the most eclectic collection of stuff - religious pieces, stuffed animals from the amazon, tribal costumes and instruments, toys...but the most impressive part is the library, with 20,000 books, some hundreds of years old

La Recoleta is a 10 minute walk from the Plaza de Armas. It´s a converted monastary and is ridiculously cheap compared with the Santa Catalina Convent. It´s got a fun selection of exhibits spread around the various cloisters, which are picturesque. The library is stunning and it´s such a shame that it seems to go unnoticed by the majority of... More

Its a bit of a walk from the center of Arequipa but it makes up for that! The building/complex itself are allready nice, but the art inside it makes it even better. And the library is the masterpiece of all that! WOW. So much (very old) books in excellent condition.

An unexpected surprise, this calm and beautiful monastery, which is still in use. The library is stunning!! A must see! Don't be fooled by the pink and slightly delapidated church. The monastery next to it (museum) is most worth the visist.

We wandered around this place for hours, incredible artwork and the scenery is beautiful. There's even a cafe inside if you want to stay longer and soak up the history.

After visiting the Santa Catalina Monastery, one has to say that this one La Recolecta also played a big part of history and how this city Arequipa was built and inhabited by the Spaniards...looking back at some history books one has to say..how natives were reluctantly introduced to Catholism...A must visit...

This convent (for monks) dates back to 1628 but since 1978 it has been functioning as a museum. It's definitely worth going to. I sought permission to peruse the books in the library. Many from the 15th and 16th centuries and many in latin. Interestingly the early editions are all branded with the letter "R" presumably as a method of... More

Interesting exhibits. Good price. And, I was the only one there!

My favorite thing about this monastery was the monk who let me in, in a complete habit, surfing the internet on a laptop. Anyway, this monastery is nothing compared to Santa Catalina, but it's definitely worth going to. For 15 minutes every hour, you can enter their library which has books from the 15th and 16th centuries, and it's the... More