Arequipa, PE

A seventh-generation, woman-run picantería in Yanahuara built of sillar stone, widely held to be the best traditional restaurant in the city. The chupe de camarones (river-shrimp chowder), rocoto relleno, and ocopa are the dishes Arequipeños grew up on.

A picantería in the historic center serving the spicy Arequipeño classics that define the region, from estofado made with chicha to rocoto relleno, in a restored colonial setting. A central, accessible way to eat the city's heritage cooking.

A long-running picantería beloved for generous plates of regional specialties and river shrimp, a local institution where Arequipeños celebrate. Unfussy, traditional, and packed at lunch with families and friends.

A polished restaurant in a restored two-story sillar house pairing Andean meats, alpaca, ostrich, and beef grilled on volcanic stone, with Alpine-European technique. The reliable upscale dinner when you want something beyond the picantería.

A polished upstairs dining room near Santa Catalina reinterpreting the region's traditional dishes with refined technique and quality produce. The elevated take on Arequipeño cuisine — rocoto relleno and chupe de camarones treated with the seriousness they deserve.

A small, cheerful spot in the center built around the Andean potato, serving native varieties topped with stews, cheeses, and sauces at gentle prices. A clever, affordable celebration of Peru's astonishing potato diversity.

A Yanahuara cevichería in a leafy garden setting serving bright Peruvian ceviche and seafood, a fresh-fish change of pace in this mountain city. A relaxed, sunny lunch spot away from the center's bustle.

A relaxed cafe in the Alianza Francesa courtyard serving dozens of sweet and savory crepes, big breakfasts, and good coffee in a pretty colonial setting. The reliable all-day breakfast-and-coffee stop in the center.

A second-floor plant-based restaurant a short walk uphill from the plaza, turning out vegan versions of Peruvian classics — ceviche, lomo saltado, tiradito — alongside hearty international options. Generous portions at gentle prices, with a terrace overlooking the old town rooftops.

An Italian restaurant built into the outer wall of the Santa Catalina monastery, blending Italian cooking with Arequipeño ingredients in an atmospheric sillar setting. A characterful change of pace beside the city's great monument.

A viewpoint on the edge of the Cayma district overlooking the green terraced campiña of the Chilina valley, with the Misti and Chachani volcanoes filling the skyline. A walk down into the terraces follows old paths through farmland on the city's edge.

A spread of pre-Inca agricultural terraces still farmed today in Paucarpata on the city's southeast edge, walked on paths between the stone-walled platforms with the volcanoes behind. A gentle, living-history walk through ancient farmland.

A restored 17th-century stone water mill set in green countryside southeast of the city, with gardens, the working mill wheel, and flat paths through the surrounding campiña. An easy, pretty rural outing close to town.

A hill topped by a mirador and an old mansion just west of the center, climbed for a 360-degree view over the whole city, the river valley, and the ring of volcanoes. A short, sharp climb to one of the best all-round panoramas around Arequipa.

A museum near the plaza built around 'Juanita', the remarkably preserved frozen mummy of an Inca girl sacrificed on a nearby volcano around 500 years ago, displayed with the offerings found alongside her. A short but genuinely unforgettable visit.

A still-active Carmelite convent near the center with a museum of colonial religious art, silverwork, and painting in its historic rooms, plus a shop where the nuns sell traditional sweets. A quieter, lived-in counterpoint to Santa Catalina.

A free attraction where you can meet alpacas and llamas up close, watch traditional spinning and weaving demonstrations, and see how the region's prized baby-alpaca wool is worked. A relaxed, family-friendly stop with no entry fee.

A contemporary art museum in a converted former railway station in the Vallecito area, with Peruvian modern and contemporary works and a leafy garden. A calm, modern contrast to the city's colonial monuments.

The center's liveliest street after dark, a run of bars, pubs, and restaurants a couple of blocks off the plaza where locals and travelers gather over pisco sours and craft beer. The natural place for an evening out in the old town.

The city's restored historic theater, staging plays, concerts, dance, and cultural events in an ornate hall a short walk from the plaza. The cultured evening option in the heart of the old town.

A grand restored colonial mansion on the city's southern edge, once owned by Arequipa's Spanish founder, set above the Sabandía river with period furnishings and a chapel. A characterful country-house museum away from the center.

A guided tasting of pisco, Peru's national grape spirit, at one of the city's bars or pisco houses, learning the grape varieties and how a proper pisco sour is built. A convivial, grown-up introduction to the country's signature drink.

A guided walk through the city's markets and picanterías tasting Arequipeño specialties, from rocoto relleno and queso helado to fresh-pressed juices, with the context of how the region's cuisine developed. The tastiest way to understand the food capital of Peru.

A 16th-century convent that is a walled 'city within the city', a labyrinth of lanes painted in deep cobalt and terracotta, with cloisters, courtyards, and the cells where cloistered nuns once lived. The single most extraordinary thing to see in Arequipa.

One of the loveliest main squares in South America, framed on three sides by arcades of white volcanic sillar stone and dominated by the long facade of the cathedral, with the Misti volcano rising behind. The social heart of the White City.

The vast neoclassical cathedral running the entire north side of the Plaza de Armas, rebuilt in white sillar after earthquakes, with a grand interior and a museum and rooftop tour. One of the few cathedrals in the Americas you can climb onto.

A viewpoint in the Yanahuara district framed by sillar arches carved with quotations, giving an unbroken panorama across the city to the Misti, Chachani, and Pichu Pichu volcanoes. The classic Arequipa postcard view.

The oldest neighborhood in the city, a tangle of narrow whitewashed sillar alleys, tiny plazas, and flower-draped corners just northeast of the center. A quiet, photogenic quarter to wander with hardly a tour group in sight.

A Jesuit church on the plaza famous for its intricately carved sillar portal, a masterpiece of the local 'mestizo baroque' style, with a vivid polychrome side chapel and cloisters alongside. The finest stonework in a city built of carved stone.

A grand 18th-century sillar mansion just off the plaza, its carved stone portal among the most elaborate in the city, now restored as a bank's cultural space with free entry. A quick, free look inside one of Arequipa's noble colonial houses.

A 17th-century Franciscan monastery across the river from the center, with tranquil cloisters, a renowned old library of rare books, and a small museum of Amazonian and pre-Columbian artifacts. A serene, lesser-visited counterpoint to Santa Catalina.

One of the best-preserved sillar mansions in the city, named for an ancient mulberry tree in its courtyard, with period furnishings, colonial paintings, and an elaborately carved stone facade. A vivid window into Arequipa's colonial aristocracy.