Museos Universitarios

Sucre


Housed in a beautifully restored 17th-century building with a picture-perfect colonial courtyard, the Museos Universitarios consist of three separate halls housing colonial relics, anthropological artifacts and modern art. Most interesting are the cases filled with dolls dressed in traditional ethnic fiesta clothing and, for the more macabre, a collection of skulls and mummified remains. The permanent gallery of paintings are mostly dark and dour portraits of generals and politicians; the quality of the contemporary exhibitions varies. Spanish and English text.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Sucre attractions

1. Museo Eclesiástico de Sucre

0.11 MILES

Next door to Sucre's cathedral, this museum holds one of Bolivia’s best collections of religious relics. There are four sections, ritually unlocked as…

2. Museo Gutiérrez Valenzuela

0.11 MILES

Run by the university, this museum is an old aristocrat’s house stocked with a hodgepodge collection of gaudy 19th-century decor. Think gilded gold…

3. Convento de San Felipe Neri

0.12 MILES

The view from the bell tower and tiled rooftop of the San Felipe Neri convent more than explains Sucre’s nickname – the ‘White City of the Americas.' In…

4. Templo Nuestra Señora de la Merced

0.13 MILES

After several years of restoration work (the completion date was still unknown at the time of research), this church's interior is still mostly bare, but…

5. Iglesia de Santo Domingo

0.13 MILES

This 16th-century church with an imposing whitewashed facade was built by the Dominican order.

6. Catedral

0.14 MILES

Sucre’s cathedral dates from the middle of the 16th century and is a harmonious blend of Renaissance architecture with later baroque additions. It’s a…

7. Prefectura de Chuquisaca

0.17 MILES

For the best view in town, inquire at the national police office inside the wedding-cake-like Prefectura de Chuquisaca, next to the cathedral. If they're…

8. Museo de Santa Clara

0.18 MILES

Located in the Santa Clara Convent, this museum of religious art, founded in 1639, contains several works by Bolivian master Melchor Pérez de Holguín and…