The massive blue-domed New Cathedral dominates Parque Calderón and the Cuenca skyline. Construction began in 1885 with the ambition of building the largest cathedral in South America — an engineering miscalculation meant the front towers were never completed to their intended height, but the building remains extraordinary. The interior is calm and luminous, its scale softened by pale stone and stained glass. Climb up to the domes for sweeping rooftop views over the historic centre and the surrounding Andean ridges.