CONVENT AND CHURCH OF SAN FRANCISCO

Built in 1529 by Toribio Benevante Motolina, it is the city's first church and one of the oldest buildings in Central America. From its pulpit, Fray Bartolomé de las Casas preached and defended the cause of the natives... Due to the many twists and turns in Granada's history, all that remains of the original building is the staircase. Note that the cerulean façade is very photogenic in the evening, when the sun is softer. The adjoining museum (open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; admission US$2 per person, extra charge for photography) is interesting but not unforgettable. It presents the history of the town, primitive paintings from the Solentiname school, some pre-Columbian and indigenous objects, and above all the rough zoomorphic stone sculptures discovered on the island of Zapatera (dated between 800 and 1200 AD). The museum is housed in a convent founded in 1529 and burnt down by Dampier in 1685. After the expulsion of the religious orders in 1836, the convent became a university. Walker established his garrison there in 1856, before setting fire to the building in his turn. It was rebuilt and became home to Granada College, which later became the Institut National d'Orient until 1975. The Swedish government helped restore the building from 1989 onwards. It's a building full of history, very well preserved today, with a superb facade. One of the city's most famous tourist attractions.