The Cathedral Basilica of St. Lawrence dominates the south side of the Plaza 24 de Septiembre, a robust 19th-century brick church built on the site of earlier wooden and adobe versions. The current building was begun in 1845 and consecrated decades later, with a heavy facade and two flanking bell towers that you can climb for a panorama over the old city and the rings of the anillos stretching away into the haze.
Inside, the cathedral is austere by Latin American standards — whitewashed walls, a coffered wooden ceiling, and a small museum off the nave with religious silverwork and vestments from the Jesuit Missions of Chiquitos. The basilica is the seat of the Archdiocese of Santa Cruz de la Sierra; come for the tower view and the cool stone interior on a hot afternoon.