Fortaleza del Real Felipe
The pentagonal fortress the viceroyalty built on Callao Bay against pirates and privateers, now an Army museum with towers, ramparts, dungeons and artillery.
Opening hours
Hours
- Monday
- Closed
- Tuesday
- 09:00–16:00
- Wednesday
- 09:00–16:00
- Thursday
- 09:00–16:00
- Friday
- 09:00–16:00
- Saturday
- 09:00–16:00
- Sunday
- 09:00–16:00
About Fortaleza del Real Felipe
The Fortaleza del Real Felipe stands on Plaza Independencia, on the first block of Avenida Sáenz Peña, in the heart of historic Callao; it is run by the Peruvian Army and has operated as a museum since 2 May 1945. It was built under viceroys Manso de Velasco and Amat to defend the port, and its pentagonal plan covers some 70,000 m². The route takes in the Torreón del Rey and Torreón de la Reina, ramparts, courtyards, a nearly pitch-dark semicircular dungeon and rooms with heavy weaponry, uniforms, medals and flags; Andina also noted a sculpture of Bolognesi by Agustín Querol. Our take: it is worth more for the military architecture and the sheer scale of the place than for its display cases, and it makes much more sense with a guide. It opens Tuesday to Sunday from 9:00 to 16:00 (closed Monday); according to Andina, a guided visit lasts about an hour and a half. Google lists it as good for kids, with an accessible entrance and free parking. Curation note: we could not find a current admission price published by the museum (its old website realfelipe.com is no longer active), so we did not load one; the opening hours match between the Ministry of Culture's museum portal and Google.
Location
Fortaleza del Real Felipe
Plaza Independencia s/n (Av. Sáenz Peña cdra. 1), Callao