3 Best Sights in The North Coast and Northern Highlands, Peru

This branch of Banco Continental is unlike any bank you've ever been in. Go through the central courtyard and up to the small art gallery on the right. Enjoy the current exhibition—anything from modern to traditional works of art—and see a scale model of Trujillo when it was a walled city. Continue to the back, taking in the chandeliers, the large gold mirrors, and the small fountain, and imagine how, in this house, Peruvian republicans plotted the country's independence from Spain, which was declared on December 29, 1820. The house later became the country's first capitol building and meeting place for its first legislature. Fun fact: much of the furniture is original.

The open courtyard, from 1709, is surrounded by beautiful cedar columns, greenery . . . and bankers: as with many colonial mansions in Peru, this one is now owned by a bank. Scotiabank, however, welcomes tourists and clients into the house to see its wonderfully restored beauty. Notice the classic brown stucco-covered adobe walls and Moorish-style carved-wood ceiling. The security guards are happy to answer questions about the house. The entrance is on the corner of Bolognesi and Pizarro.

The enormous, elaborately carved wooden door is a stunning entrance to this beautifully restored neoclassical mansion from the early 19th century. The house is owned by Peru's Central Bank; simply inform the guard that you'd like to go inside and look around. Don't miss the lovely rococo furniture and the fine collection of pre-Columbian ceramics.