Top 10 Things to Do in Cusco

1. Plaza de Armas

Cusco's Plaza de Armas occupies part of the ceremonial center of the former Inca capital and remains the principal civic space of the modern city. The cathedral, Church of the Society of Jesus and surrounding arcades show how Spanish institutions were inserted into an urban landscape that already carried enormous political meaning. Because Plaza de Armas is also a religious or ceremonial site, check current visiting hours, services, dress expectations and any separate tower, crypt or treasury access before building the day around it. Check the official site for Plaza de Armas shortly before visiting, because opening hours, restoration work, reservation systems and access rules can change more quickly than the landmark itself.

2. Qorikancha and Santo Domingo

Qorikancha was one of the Inca Empire's most important sacred complexes and is now incorporated beneath and beside the colonial Convent of Santo Domingo. The surviving curved stone walls and later church construction make the site's architectural layering especially clear without requiring visitors to imagine one period after another. Because Qorikancha and Santo Domingo is also a religious or ceremonial site, check current visiting hours, services, dress expectations and any separate tower, crypt or treasury access before building the day around it. Check the official site for Qorikancha and Santo Domingo shortly before visiting, because opening hours, restoration work, reservation systems and access rules can change more quickly than the landmark itself.

3. Sacsayhuamán

Sacsayhuamán occupies a ridge above Cusco and is famous for enormous fitted stone walls built during the Inca period. The site also provides broad views over the city basin, helping visitors understand the spatial relationship between the imperial center and the high defensive and ceremonial landscape around it. Use Sacsayhuamán as a genuine walking block rather than a drive-by stop, and check current weather, trail, access or seasonal conditions before setting out. Check the official site for Sacsayhuamán shortly before visiting, because opening hours, restoration work, reservation systems and access rules can change more quickly than the landmark itself.

4. San Blas

San Blas climbs the hillside northeast of the Plaza de Armas through narrow streets, workshops and small plazas associated with artisans and long-established residential life. Walking the district reveals the steep topography of central Cusco and provides a quieter urban counterpoint to the monumental churches around the main square. Because San Blas is also a religious or ceremonial site, check current visiting hours, services, dress expectations and any separate tower, crypt or treasury access before building the day around it. Check the official site for San Blas shortly before visiting, because opening hours, restoration work, reservation systems and access rules can change more quickly than the landmark itself.

5. San Pedro Market

San Pedro Market is a large covered market near the historic center where produce, prepared food, household goods and local products serve residents as well as visitors. Moving through the market carefully and respectfully offers a direct look at everyday commerce that balances the heavily monumental image of Cusco's central plazas. Visit San Pedro Market earlier in the day if you want to see more of its working-market rhythm, then continue on foot into the surrounding streets instead of treating the market as an isolated food stop. Check the official site for San Pedro Market shortly before visiting, because opening hours, restoration work, reservation systems and access rules can change more quickly than the landmark itself.

6. Inca Walls on Hatun Rumiyoc

Hatun Rumiyoc preserves exceptionally fine Inca masonry within an active city street, including the famous twelve-angled stone. The wall is important not because one block has an unusual shape, but because the entire fitted-stone surface demonstrates engineering precision that later colonial buildings repeatedly reused as foundations. Give Inca Walls on Hatun Rumiyoc enough time to connect with the surrounding neighborhood rather than treating it as an isolated photograph; that local context is what turns the stop into a useful part of a Cusco guide. Check the official site for Inca Walls on Hatun Rumiyoc shortly before visiting, because opening hours, restoration work, reservation systems and access rules can change more quickly than the landmark itself.