There is not much worth seeing in Puno itself, although there are a couple of items of interest if you have some free time in the city. The Plaza de Armas and the Cathedral are of minor interest, as is the Balcón del Conde de Lemos, a colonial wooden balcony. Opposite the balcony is the Museo Municipal Carlos Dreyer (**), at Conde de Lemos 289, which has an interesting collection of ceramics and a few stone monoliths. There is a $0.70 entrance charge to the museum. It is possible to walk up the hill behind the museum to the Manco Capac monument, offering good views of the town and the lake. However, this can be dangerous, so do not go around sundown.
The Yavari (**) is an old steam ship that used to work on the lake. It is currently under restoration, and it is hoped that it will start offering services again when it is fully restored. Meanwhile, it is a museum that can be visited. The ship was built in England in 1862 and was transported to Arica, then part of Peru. From Arica, the ship was taken piece by piece by mule to Lake Titicaca, where it was assembled. The ship finally took to the waters of Lake Titicaca in 1871. Due to sailing in fresh rather than salt water, the ship has not suffered rust damage, and so when it is relaunched it will be one of the oldest steam ships in the world still in operation. In April 2002, the ship was moved to its new berth next to the Posada del Inca Hotel, halfway towards Isla Esteves. The ship is open from 8am to 5pm (free entry). It is also possible to visit from 5pm to 11pm, when the ship is illuminated.
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