Attraction
Sacsayhuamán
The great Inca complex on the hill above Cusco, famed for zigzag terrace walls of huge, precisely fitted stones and a plaza still used for Inti…
The things to do in Cusco start with the city itself. The former capital of the Inca Empire sits at about 3,400 metres in the southern Andes, and its historic centre, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983, is built directly on Inca foundations: the Cathedral stands on the palace of Viracocha, Santo Domingo rises from the walls of the Qorikancha sun temple, and the great terraces of Sacsayhuamán look down from the hill above. The Plaza de Armas is the natural starting point, with the artisans' quarter of San Blas a short climb uphill and San Pedro Market a few blocks away.
Cusco is also the base for the Sacred Valley, with Pisac, Ollantaytambo, Moray and the Maras salt pans, and for the trains and treks to Machu Picchu. The food scene ranges from traditional picanterías to tasting menus by Peru's best-known chefs, and the city has plenty of cafés, pisco bars and live music. Allow at least three or four days, including time to adjust to the altitude, and more if you plan to trek or stay in the valley.
Attraction
The great Inca complex on the hill above Cusco, famed for zigzag terrace walls of huge, precisely fitted stones and a plaza still used for Inti…
Attraction
The Inca Empire's most important temple, dedicated to the sun god Inti, with fine stone rooms surviving inside the Dominican church and convent of Santo Domingo.
Attraction
The Renaissance cathedral on the north-east side of the Plaza de Armas, built on an Inca palace and filled with Cusco School paintings and carved altars.
Attraction
Cusco's main square, the Inca Huacaypata, framed by the Cathedral, the Compañía church and colonial arcades built over Inca palaces.
Attraction
The Jesuit church on the Plaza de Armas, rebuilt after the 1650 earthquake with a Baroque stone facade and a gilded cedar altarpiece over 20 metres…
Attraction
A compact museum of pre-Columbian art from the Museo Larco collection, in a restored colonial mansion on Plaza de las Nazarenas, open daily until 22:00.
Café
A women-led specialty café in a restored colonial house near the Plaza de Armas, buying from women coffee growers and listed among the world's 100 best…
Café
A specialty coffee company that grew from a small cart in San Blas into an award-winning Cusco café and roaster, ranked 22nd among the world's best…
Café
A long-running San Blas café known for generous all-day breakfasts, huevos rancheros, pancakes, sandwiches and soups, with queues at busy times.
Café
A chocolate museum and café above Plaza Regocijo serving hot chocolate, cocoa tea and truffles, with daily bean-to-bar workshops for adults and children.
Café
One of the oldest cafés in Cusco's historic centre, run by the same family since 1970, popular with locals and decorated with Andean art.
Café
A colourful San Blas café and art gallery with murals and furniture made from recycled materials, serving specialty coffee, teas, cakes and sandwiches.
Hotel
An all-suite Belmond hotel in a former palace and convent on Plazoleta Nazarenas, with oxygen-enriched suites, a heated outdoor pool and Pía León's Mauka.
Hotel
A former 16th-century monastery built on Inca foundations, with a baroque chapel, cloistered courtyards, Cusco School art and the Oqre restaurant.
Hotel
A large luxury hotel in a 16th-century Augustinian convent near the Plaza de Armas, with oxygen-enriched rooms, a spa and its own small museum.
Hotel
An intimate 11-suite hotel in a restored 16th-century manor on Plaza Las Nazarenas, the first Relais & Châteaux hotel in Peru, with fireplaces and heated floors.
Hotel
A 15-suite boutique hotel in a 16th-century mansion on Inca foundations, a few steps from the Plaza de Armas, with a large spa and a heated…
Hotel
A 22-room boutique hotel in a restored colonial house in San Cristóbal, once home to two noted Cusco archaeologists, with large gardens on Inca terraces.
Bar
The flagship of a small group of pisco bars, near the Plaza de Armas, offering guided tastings of Peru's grape brandy, pisco sour sessions and inventive…
Bar
Peru's first folkloric institution, founded in 1924, staging a daily show of Cusco's traditional music and dances on Avenida El Sol.
Bar
A long-running live music bar and cultural space on Calle Plateros, with nightly bands playing rock, reggae, Latin and Andean music and free entry.
Bar
An Irish-owned pub just off the Plaza de Armas on Calle Triunfo, popular with travellers and expats for Guinness, Cusqueña, pub food and live football.
Bar
A popular late-night club in an old house on the Plaza de Armas, playing salsa, reggae, hip hop and dance music until the early hours.
Bar
A pisco bar in a colonial house on Calle Plateros, serving pisco sours and other pisco drinks made with local ingredients, with snacks and live music.
Restaurant
Virgilio Martínez's restaurant and research centre beside the Moray terraces, serving a lunch tasting menu of Andean ingredients at around 3,600 metres.
Restaurant
Chef Pía León's restaurant inside Palacio Nazarenas, celebrating Peru's farmers and landscapes with native grains, trout, alpaca and Sacred Valley herbs.
Restaurant
Gastón Acurio's Cusco restaurant on Plaza Regocijo, reinterpreting regional dishes such as adobo, trout ceviche and alpaca, with an open kitchen and pisco bar.
Restaurant
A long-running upstairs restaurant and tapas bar in the historic centre, known for Mediterranean-Andean cooking, handmade pasta and its own café and bakery.
Restaurant
A Nikkei restaurant in a colonial house on the Plaza de Armas, pairing Japanese technique with Peruvian seafood and Andean ingredients, with balcony tables.
Restaurant
A San Blas restaurant facing the San Blas church, serving traditional Cusco and Andean dishes in a colonial patio, open daily from noon.
Thing to do
The Inca citadel on a ridge above the Urubamba, about 80 km from Cusco, visited on one of three official circuits reached by train and bus…
Thing to do
A striped mountain of coloured minerals at over 5,000 metres south-east of Cusco, reached on a long day trip with a short but very high-altitude walk.
Thing to do
Terraced salt ponds in a canyon below the village of Maras, fed by a salty spring and worked by local families since Inca times.
Thing to do
Cusco's central iron-roofed market, a short walk from the Plaza de Armas, with juice stalls, soup counters, Andean produce, herbs and crafts.
Thing to do
A walk past the Twelve-Angled Stone on Hatun Rumiyoc and up into San Blas, Cusco's hillside quarter of artisans' workshops, cafés and city views.
Tour operator
A Cusco-based adventure company running the Inca Trail, Salkantay, Lares and Rainbow Mountain trips, with ISO certifications and community projects since 2013.
Tour operator
A Cusco trekking company with more than 20 years of Inca Trail experience, known for small groups and its porter welfare programme.
Tour operator
A Cusco operator specialising in the Salkantay route to Machu Picchu, with classic, premium and dome-camp versions plus Inca Trail and day trips.
Tour operator
A Cusco adventure company running Apurimac rafting, mountain biking, paddleboarding, treks and family trips since 1985, with a stated carbon-positive approach.
Tour operator
Peru's pioneering adventure travel company, founded in 1975 by Alfredo Ferreyros with its first office in Cusco, running treks including the Inca Trail and Choquequirao.
Plan at least three or four days for the city, Sacsayhuamán and the Sacred Valley, including time to acclimatise, and add one or two days for Machu Picchu or longer if you are trekking.
The historic centre around the Plaza de Armas and the Plazoleta Nazarenas puts most sights within walking distance, while San Blas is quieter and full of character but involves steep climbs.
Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport is about 20 minutes from the historic centre by car, and taxis and hotel transfers are the usual options.
Costs range widely, from hostels and market lunches to luxury hotels and tasting menus; Machu Picchu tickets, trains and treks are usually the largest expenses.
The centre is busy with visitors and generally welcoming, but keep an eye on bags in crowded places such as San Pedro Market and around the Plaza de Armas, especially at night, and take the altitude seriously.