Fodor's Expert Review Concejo Municipal

This graceful colonial building, set around a manicured courtyard, is considered the cradle of Venezuelan statehood. On July 5, 1811, the National Congress met here and approved the Declaration of Independence. Today the building houses the Museo Criollo, which exhibits a permanent collection of works by noted Venezuelan painter Emilio Boggio (1857–1920) and scale-model miniatures by Raúl Santana that depict every imaginable aspect of Venezuela's early culture.