The 1639 Iglesia de San Francisco is one of the oldest in the city, a national heritage site with lots of gold, a gorgeous nave, and a rococo interior. It was abandoned between 1830 and 1881, then refurbished with two elaborate altarpieces for San Antonio and Our Lady of Mercy. The convent was badly damaged during the 1979 Battle for León. You can check out what used to be the convent next door at Hotel El Convento.
Iglesia de San Francisco
León
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
0.34 MILES
Three blocks north of the cathedral, the 1786 Iglesia de la Recolección is considered the city’s most beautiful church, a Mexican-style baroque confection…
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Reserva Natural Isla Juan Venado
10.27 MILES
This 20km-long, sandy barrier island (in some places only 300m wide) has swimming holes and lots of wildlife, including hundreds of migrating bird species…
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Museo de Arte Fundación Ortiz-Gurdián
0.03 MILES
Probably the finest museum of contemporary art in all of Central America, the Ortiz-Gurdián Collection has spilled over from its original home in Casa Don…
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20.75 MILES
Anyone with even a passing interest in archaeology should stop in here, one of the finest museums in the country. The beautifully displayed collection…
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13.76 MILES
Flor de Caña rum is among the world's finest and it has been produced in Chichigalpa since the distillery's founding in 1890. Visitors are initiated into…
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Museo Histórico de la Revolución
0.16 MILES
León is the heart and soul of liberal Nicaragua. Stop into this museum for an overview of the Nicaraguan revolutionaries who stood up against the Somoza…
17.95 MILES
Buried and lost for over 300 years, this was Nicaragua’s first capital – a rough-and-ready settlement that some say was doomed from the start. Founded in…
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0.26 MILES
Officially known as the Basílica de la Asunción, León’s cathedral is the largest in Central America, its expansive design famously (and perhaps…
Nearby León attractions
1. Museo de Arte Fundación Ortiz-Gurdián
0.03 MILES
Probably the finest museum of contemporary art in all of Central America, the Ortiz-Gurdián Collection has spilled over from its original home in Casa Don…
0.08 MILES
A Victorian-style chapel around the corner from Rubén Darío's one-time home, with a modernist, neoclassical exterior and appealing interior.
0.08 MILES
Nicaragua's most famous poet, Rubén Dario, lived in this house for the first 14 years of his life – indeed, he started writing poetry right here at age 12…
0.1 MILES
This quaint park has a statue of the poet master and busts of other, lesser Leónese poets, including Alfonso Cortés (1893–1969), Azarias H Pallais (1884…
5. Galería de Héroes y Mártires
0.12 MILES
A homage to León’s more recent history is found at the Galería de Héroes y Mártires, run by mothers of FSLN veterans and fallen heroes, with murals,…
0.14 MILES
An early 20th-century landmark, the Casa del Obrero (House of the Worker) honors Nicaraguan laborers. The building became a historical symbol on September…
7. Museo Histórico de la Revolución
0.16 MILES
León is the heart and soul of liberal Nicaragua. Stop into this museum for an overview of the Nicaraguan revolutionaries who stood up against the Somoza…