Monasterio de la Recoleta is a Franciscan monastery founded in 1648, set apart from Arequipa's busiest colonial core. Its red-and-white brick bell tower is the first thing you notice, but the surviving cloisters, library, and museum rooms are the real reason to go.
Only part of the original monastery remains, yet the complex still gives a good sense of Arequipa's religious life outside the better-known Santa Catalina. The library is especially memorable, with old volumes stacked in a room that feels more like a film set than a reading room.