The San Francisco Convent Cultural Center is a museum next to the San Francisco Convent. This museum offers a nice collection of historical objects, paintings, and statues. In some halls there are permanent exhibitions, whereas other halls have a different theme every now and then.

The Pre-Columbian statues from the Zapatera Island are part of the permanent collection. These statues date from 800 to 1200 AD. There are 28 tall, basaltic objects, which were sculptured by the indigenous people from Zapatera Island (located in Lake Nicaragua).

Granada’s history is portrayed on 31 photos from the period 1890 – 1940. There is also a recently constructed model of Granada, which gives you an idea of how Granada is organized nowadays.

There are 27 paintings from the famous painters’ island, Solentiname. The oil paintings are ‘Primitive Paintings’, a famous Nicaraguan painting style. Solentiname still houses a true Primitive Painting School, and there are still many of those paintings produced on this island.

Other expositions display archaeological findings and other objects that tell you more about Nicaragua’s history. The museum is located in a colonial house with a beautiful inner courtyard.

The entrance fee is U$2 for foreigners and C$12 for nationals. The prices include a bilingual guide who will explain more about the exhibitions. The museum is open on weekdays from 8:30AM until 5:30PM, and in the weekend from 9AM to 4PM. The museum is right next to the San Francisco Convent (to the left when facing the convent).