La Recoleta is a Franciscan monastery perched on the hill at the southern edge of the historic centre. Founded in 1601, the building wraps four cloisters around a small church, and the climb up Calle Bolívar to reach it is the city's most pleasant short walk. The terrace immediately outside the church, the Mirador de la Recoleta, is the great viewpoint of Sucre — a sweeping panorama of the entire white-roofed historic centre with the Andean foothills behind. The view at sunset is justly famous.
The convent itself houses an outstanding museum of religious art, including some of the best colonial-era painting in Bolivia. Highlights include a series of fine carved choir stalls in dark walnut, illuminated manuscripts, and the strange "Christ of the Patience" — a polychrome wooden Christ in a seated, pensive pose unusual in Catholic iconography. The friars still live in part of the complex and the church remains active. Combine a visit with a coffee on the terrace at Cafe Mirador next door.