Cuenca Walking Tour: A One-Day Walk Through the Historic Centre

Parque Abdón Calderón gives this Cuenca historic centre walk a clear starting point. Use the plaza as the first stop, then continue to the cathedrals and museum for a day centred on historic landmarks.

From the park, make the New Cathedral your next stop if you want to visit the Santa Ana Terrace at a scheduled time. The Old Cathedral museum adds a separate stop at the corner of Calle Sucre and Calle Luis Cordero.

The New Cathedral and the Old Cathedral offer different stops: a scheduled terrace visit at the New Cathedral and a religious-art museum inside the Old Cathedral.

The New Cathedral’s Santa Ana Terrace is reached from Calle Santa Ana, between the cathedral and Seminario San Luis. The viewpoint requires climbing 165 steps. Scheduled visits are Monday–Friday at 09:00, 10:00, 11:00, 12:00 and 14:00, and Saturday at 09:00, 10:00, 11:00, 12:00 and 13:00.

The Old Cathedral, officially the Iglesia del Sagrario and commonly called the Catedral Vieja, now serves as a religious-art museum. Its collection and features include a 1573 mural, adobe walls, Inca stones, a pipe organ, the Sangurima pulpit and La Piedad by Miguel Vélez. A municipal description says restoration began in 1999 and took six years.

Plaza de las Flores is another named stop in the historic-centre itinerary. Place it after the cathedral visits if you want to keep the day moving from the central park through the religious landmarks and on to another plaza.

Keep the route flexible around the scheduled terrace visits: choose a time that fits your day, then visit the Old Cathedral museum and Plaza de las Flores as part of the same central-area walk. If you’re adding a market stop, the Mercado 10 de Agosto guide covers what to see and how to visit.

Museo Catedral Vieja is the museum stop with specific opening hours and admission details for this walk. Its displays include religious art and historic objects associated with the Old Cathedral.

The municipal listing gives opening hours as Monday–Friday, 09:00–13:00 and 14:00–16:00, and Saturday, 09:00–13:00. Admission is USD 1 per person. For context on other central collections, the guide to three Cuenca museums covers additional museum stops.

The Tomebamba River and the Broken Bridge are the proposed final stops for this walk. Treat them as a closing point after the central landmarks rather than adding them between the cathedral visits.

The route can finish with the riverfront after the museum stop, leaving the day’s main historic-centre visits together in the earlier part of the itinerary.

Plan the cathedral visits around their stated schedules, and check the Old Cathedral museum’s hours before setting out. The Santa Ana Terrace involves 165 steps, so account for the climb when deciding whether to include it.

The municipal listing gives the Old Cathedral museum’s hours and admission, while the Cuenca Archdiocese provides the terrace schedule and access details. Check the official site before you go, using the relevant municipal and Archdiocese information for any changes.

For a visit that includes both cathedral stops, choose a terrace time first and fit the museum into its published opening hours. Parque Abdón Calderón is about an 8-minute walk from Siena Hotel.

How much does Museo Catedral Vieja cost?

The municipal listing gives admission as USD 1 per person.

How many steps lead to the Santa Ana Terrace?

Reaching the viewpoint requires climbing 165 steps.

When can you visit the Santa Ana Terrace?

Visits are scheduled Monday–Friday at 09:00, 10:00, 11:00, 12:00 and 14:00, and Saturday at 09:00, 10:00, 11:00, 12:00 and 13:00.

What is the Old Cathedral called in Cuenca?

Its official name is Iglesia del Sagrario; it is commonly known as the Catedral Vieja.