Government Palace of Peru

Also called the House of Pizarro, this palace on the north side of the Plaza Mayor is the seat of Peru's executive branch and the official residence of the president. The current French Baroque and neoclassical building was completed in 1938 after fire destroyed the earlier colonial structure, though the site has served as the center of government since the conquest. A changing of the guard ceremony takes place at midday before the ornate iron gates.