Here's Why San Blas Is Becoming Cusco's Hottest Neighborhood

The barrio that’s a steep walk away from Cusco’s Plaza de Armas is without doubt the best place to stay while you’re visiting. It has established itself as the bohemian district of the city, while maintaining its authenticity. You’ll find the best coffee shops, boutique stores and best vibes in this small barrio. Here is our guide to the hippest destination in Cusco.

Shops

Boutique

While the Plaza de Armas is home to Cusco’s most high-end shops and chains, it is not where you’ll find the most unique boutique store in Cusco. If you’re seeking fashion in your alpaca products, then San Blas is your place – you’ll find the narrow streets lined with stylish boutiques that are found nowhere else in the city.

It’s not all expensive boutique stores, however. You’ll also find plenty of the cheaper markets where you can buy souvenirs for the entire family. You can find cool boutique stores right next to a courtyard filled with cheap Andean souvenirs – do all your shopping in one place.

Coffee shops

Best. Coffee. Hands down. If you seek the best Peruvian cup of coffee, you can spend all day in San Blas. The streets are lined with little coffee shops offering Peruvian roasts and unique blends. The best street for your taste test is Carmen Alto, where you’ll find at least five coffee shops, including Cafe Concept which has one of the best views of the entire neighborhood.

Food

Market

San Blas has one of the best markets in Cusco. It is not the biggest nor can you find everything there, but it has some of the best food for unbeatable prices. The highlight of the market is its vegetarian restaurant with dishes for six soles, and the various juice bars offering delicious drinks for three soles. For the price, nowhere else compares in Cusco – not to mention that it is one of Peru’s cleanest markets.

Vegetarian

Being Cusco’s bohemian neighborhood, it has delicious vegetarian options – it comes with the territory of being crowned the hippie part of town. In addition to delicious takes on Peruvian classics, you can eat at top-notch vegan restaurant Green Point, which offers a lunchtime special and an unbeatable menu all day. If you want the best bang for your buck though, the market awaits you.

Yoga

The city of Cusco was made by the Incas in the shape of a puma and San Blas is right in the heart of that puma – with that comes the spiritual center of Cusco. It might be hard to continue your yoga practice and mediation while traveling, but that’s not the case in San Blas. Head to the Healing House where you can practice yoga (they have classes all day), participate in meditations, reiki and sound healing ceremonies. Everything you want is found at the Healing House.

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.

We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.