San Felipe de Neri Rooftops, San Francisco & Santa Clara Churches Guide

During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, when the jurists of the Real Audiencia de Charcas and the silver barons of nearby Potosí endowed monasteries, convents, and churches across every block of La Plata, Sucre acquired the densest concentration of ecclesiastical architecture in Bolivia. Today, several of these convents allow visitors to climb directly onto their wide, brick-and-terracotta roofs for unforgettable views across the White City.

1. Oratorio de San Felipe de Neri (Constructed 1795 to 1799): The Famous Rooftop Walk

Located at Calle Nicolás Ortiz 165 just a block and a half south-west of Plaza 25 de Mayo, the former Convento de San Felipe de Neri was built between 1795 and 1799 by the Congregation of the Oratory of Saint Philip Neri using stone quarried from Cerro Churuquella:

• The Two-Storey Neoclassical Cloister & Crypt: Because the monastery now operates as a girls' parochial school during morning hours, the monument opens to visitors in the afternoon (when the low sun is ideal for photography; check the entrance gate for current afternoon hours). Stepping inside reveals a monumental two-storey whitewashed peristyle courtyard framed by austere neoclassical arches and corner turrets.
• Walking Among Domes, Belfries & Terracotta Tiles: Narrow stone stairs inside the corner tower lead directly out onto the wide, flat-paved rooftop terrace surrounding the central domes. Lined with low white parapets, ceramic-tiled cupolas, and open bell arches hung with eighteenth-century bronze bells, the roof offers a 360-degree view over Sucre's curved red roof tiles (tejas musleras) toward Churuquella and Sica Sica.

2. Basílica de San Francisco (1581), Convento de Santa Clara (1639) & La Merced

• Basílica de San Francisco (Calle Ravelo / Aniceto Arce, 1577 to 1581): One of the oldest churches in Sucre, famed for its carved and gilded sixteenth-century Mudéjar cedar ceiling and its corner bell tower, where the Campana de la Libertad was rung on 25 May 1809 until it cracked calling citizens to the independence uprising.
• Museo Convento de Santa Clara (Calle Calvo 212, Founded 1639): Founded by widow María Ceballos for the Poor Clare nuns, its museum displays a wooden Baroque pipe organ, silver altar frontals, and canvases by the master of the Potosí school, Melchor Pérez de Holguín, alongside convent pastries sold through the wooden turnstile (torno).
• Iglesia de La Merced & San Lázaro (1544): Three blocks south of the plaza, La Merced houses a carved cedar High Baroque pulpit and belfry access, while San Lázaro (1544) on Calle Calvo is the oldest parish church in Sucre.

3. Best Time of Day for Rooftop Photography

Arrive between 16:00 and 17:30 when low afternoon sun illuminates the whitewashed cupolas.

4. Respecting Active Convent Life

Keep voices low inside Santa Clara and San Felipe de Neri, where school and religious communities reside.

5. Combining Your Church Walk with MUSEF

Across Calle Bolívar stands the colonial mansion of the Museo Nacional de Etnografía y Folklore (MUSEF), featuring Bolivia's finest mask exhibition.