The old city centre was largely destroyed by the 1972 earthquake and was never rebuilt in any conventional sense. What you find instead is an atmospheric zone of ruins, monuments, and wide plazas on the southern shore of Lake Managua. The ruined Old Cathedral stands open to the sky alongside the refurbished National Palace and the Rubén Darío theatre — an oddly compelling ensemble of the broken and the restored.
Walking around the Centro Histórico gives a real sense of what the earthquake meant for this city: whole blocks that once held homes and businesses were simply cleared and never built back, leaving a city centre that is more open space than urban fabric. The lakefront Malecón has been developed with restaurants and a weekend market, and the Sandino silhouette on the Tiscapa hill watches over it all. Come in the morning for the best light and the fewest crowds.