The interior of Casa Urquiaga has three lovely courtyards and rooms decorated with period furniture from the 17th and 18th centuries, the most notable of which is the desk of Simón Bolivar, the legendary leader who led much of Latin America to its independence from Spain. More highlights include magnificent French porcelain, chandeliers and antique mirrors in the dining room, and the collection of antiquities, especially the gold Chavín necklaces and Chimú ornamental pieces made of gold.
Casa Urquiaga is on Jr. Francisco Pizarro along the southeastern flank of Plaza des Armas (also known as Plaza Mayor) in the center of Trujillo, easily accessible by taxi and any number of public buses.
Casa Urquiaga is open Monday - Friday, 9am - 3pm, and on weekends, 10am - 1pm. Come in the morning before having lunch around the square. Trujillo enjoys a subtropical desert climate, with a warm season (January to March), and a cooler season (June to November.). Trujillo International Spring Festival takes place late September. It's one of Peru’s largest and most popular festivals, with horse shows, fashion shows, dance contests, and floats of flowers and beauty contestants.
Catty-corner to the Casa Urquiaga on Plaza Armas is Trujillo Cathedral (also known as Cathedral Basilica of St. Mary). Bright yellow with white wedding-cake piping and twin bell towers, the magnificent church is impossible to miss. Go inside to admire the ornate baroque and rococo altarpieces created during the height of Trujillo’s famous wood-engraving tradition, the vivid painting of Christ’s resurrection on the cupola, and remarkable colonial-era Catholic paintings in the church’s Museum of Religious Art.