Lima, Peru — Where to Go
Lima Sightseeing Overview
Lima was founded by Francisco Pizarro the Conquistador who seized the land of the Incas for Spain in 1535. As the center of a Spanish viceroyalty that spanned Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia and Chile, Lima was the most important South American capital until the 19th century. A great deal of Andean silver passed through Lima en route to Spain, and some of it funded the colonial mansions and baroque churches whose altars still gleam with the rich metal.
Many of Lima's buildings are visibly crumbling, but the compact, historic heart is a UNESCO World Heritage site. This is where many of Lima's museums, churches and colonial treasures are conveniently located, and is best explored on foot.
Lima walking tours usually start in Plaza de Armas, which was the city's main meeting point and market place. Around 400 years ago, bullfights were held in this square - the current bullring is a 10-minute walk away.
Dominating the square is the Palacio de Gobierno (Government Palace), on the site of the original palace built by Lima's founder, Pizarro. Also here is the cathedral, rebuilt in 1758, after an earthquake destroyed the original building. Pizarro's daughter helped pay for the original cathedral, on condition that her father was buried in the crypt.
Nearby, the Pasaje Nicolas de Ribera el Viejo is home to elegant cafés. The Palacio Torre Tagle, with its Moorish-influenced wooden balconies, is one of Lima's most beautiful Spanish colonial mansions.
A few blocks east lies Plaza Bolivar, with the fascinating Museo de la Inquisicion (Spanish Inquisition Museum). Other city center highlights include the Museo de la Nación (National Museum), for an overview of Peru's archaeological riches, and the Museo de Oro del Perú (Gold Museum of Peru), with its collection of stunning gold artifacts.
Away from the center lie the fashionable seaside suburbs of Miraflores and San Isidro, while the suburb of Barranco offers lively, bohemian bars. Miraflores even has its own US-style shopping mall, Larco Mar, with 10-pin bowling, a multiplex cinema, snack bars, restaurants, discos and live music. The mall is situated right on the cliffs overlooking the sea.
Lima Tourist Information
Iperú Lima
Jorge Basadre 610, San Isidro
Tel: (01) 421 1627.
Website: www.peru.info
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 0830-1800.
The South American Explorers Club, Calle Piura 135, Miraflores (tel: (01) 445 3306; www.saexplorers.org) provides invaluable trip-planning advice and use of clubhouses to its members.
Lima Sightseeing
There are no tourist passes currently available in Lima.
Lima Sightseeing
There are no tourist passes currently available in Lima.
Key Attractions in Lima, Peru
Plaza de Armas or Plaza Mayor (Main Square)
With its gardens, old street lamps and bronze fountain, Lima's impressive central square is a picture of colonial elegance and testimony to the money lavished upon its restoration. Dominating the north side of the square is the opulent Palacio de Gobierno (Government Palace) on the site of the original palace built by the Conquistadors and completely rebuilt in 1938. When Peru was a Spanish colony, the Palacio de Gobierno was the official residency of the king's representative. Today, it's the home of the president of the republic and is only open for tours if booked a day ahead with your passport. The main attraction is the changing of the guard at 1145. The cathedral, an example of Spanish baroque, stands on the site of two previous churches. The first was built in 1550, although it was replaced nearly a hundred years later, when a larger church was required. A massive earthquake then destroyed this building in 1746. The present cathedral, built a few years later, is a perfect copy of its predecessor, distinguished by its high nave, three aisles and carved wooden stalls. Pizarro's remains lie in a glass coffin in the chapel and there is a small Museo de Arte Religioso (Religious Art Museum). Guided tours in English are available. To the left side of the cathedral stands the beautiful modern replica of the Archbishop's Palace, with its Moorish wooden balcony.
Plaza de Armas (Plaza Mayor)
UNESCO site: Y.
Palacio de Torre Tagle
Two blocks east of Plaza Mayor stands the jewel of Lima's colonial architecture: the Palacio de Torre Tagle. The mansion was built in 1735 for Don José Torre Tagle y Bracho, made the First Marquis of Torre Tagle, by King Charles V of Spain. The family house has beautiful carved wooden balconies, staterooms and opulent staircases, while the decorative azulejos (tiling) shows a mixture of Spanish and Moorish influences. The highlight, however, is a gilded 16th-century carriage. The government took the house over in 1918 and it remains the home of the Foreign Ministry. Visitors can only enter the courtyard.
Jiron Ucayali 363
Tel: (01) 311 2400.
Opening hours: Daily 0900-1700.
Admission charge: N.
Disabled access: Y.
Museo de la Inquisición (Spanish Inquisition Museum)
In the main hall, the mahogany ceiling is carved into beautiful abstract forms. The infamous Court of the Inquisition was first held here in the late 16th century. In the basement are examples of the torture instruments used by the Inquisitors. Behind the museum is Lima's Chinatown, a maze of grubby streets dominated by exotic sights and smells. Entered through a decorative Chinese-style gateway, this area has some of Lima's best and cheapest Chifas (Chinese restaurants). Peru's Chinese community is now well established, a century or more after the first Chinese immigrants arrived as economic refugees to seek farm work on the coast.
Plaza Bolivar, Jirón Junín 548
Tel: (01) 311 7777.
Website: www.congreso.gob.pe/museo.htm
Opening hours: Daily 0900-1700.
Admission charge: N.
Disabled access: Y.
El Convento de los Descalzos (The Monastery of the Shoeless)
Behind the Palacio de Gobierno is the rundown Rímac area and the Alameda de los Descalzos, a walkway designed by the city fathers in the 17th century. At the end of the Almeda is a Franciscan monastery, founded in 1592 and named after the barefoot Franciscan friars. The cloisters contain several hundred Peruvian religious paintings.
Alameda de los Descalzos
Tel: (01) 481 0441.
Opening hours: Daily 0930-1300 and 1500-1800.
Admission charge: Y.
Disabled access: Y.
Museo de la Nación (National Museum)
This large concrete building in the suburb of San Borja is the country's main anthropological and archaeological museum. Its permanent exhibits highlight Peru's history stretching back to its earliest tribal cultures, although they do not always have explanations in English. There are interesting displays of traditional peasant costumes from around Peru as well as special exhibitions.
Avenida Javier Prado Este 2465
Tel: (01) 476 9878.
Website: www.inc.gob.pe
Opening hours: Tues-Sun 0900-1700.
Admission charge: Y.
Disabled access: Y.
Museo de Oro del Perú (Gold Museum of Peru)
This highly recommended museum is housed in a Fort Knox-like building, set back from the street and surrounded by trees. Here, the loot that made Peru famous and Spain wealthy is on display. Upstairs are weapons and uniforms from Peru's violent past. Downstairs are hundreds of dazzling gold and silver artifacts from pre-Conquest to colonial times, including a yellow-feathered Inca poncho and a skull sporting teeth made of pink quartz.
Alonso de Molina 1100, Monterrico
Tel: (01) 345 1292.
Website: www.museoroperu.com.pe
Opening hours: Daily 1130-1900.
Admission charge: Y.
Disabled access: Y.
Further Distractions
Cerro San Cristóbal
Dwarfing houses in the Rímac district is the volcano-shaped hillside of Cerro San Cristobal. On a clear day (rare in Lima), it affords views of the sprawling city, all the way to the ocean in one direction and to the Andean foothills in the other. The summit of San Cristóbal is topped by a huge illuminated cross where locals leave petitions and candles. There is a café and small museum at the summit. Due to its reputation for muggings, a taxi to the summit is recommended.
Cerro San Cristóbal, Rímac
Miraflores and Barranco
One of the main attractions of Lima is its proximity to the Pacific Ocean. In the last century, many of its richest families built summer houses in the seaside suburbs of Miraflores and Barranco, then well outside the city center. Miraflores is a perfect base from which to visit the rest of Lima. Parque Kennedy, a pretty tree-lined park, surrounded by pavement cafés, offers a sanctuary from the noise and pollution of the city center. Miraflores has a number of excellent shops selling local arts and crafts. When the sun sinks into the ocean, head for a ‘sundowner' at the Rosa Náutica, a bar and restaurant that juts into the sea, on its very own pier. Barranco is where Lima's party-lovers head to at the weekend, for its lively restaurants and nightlife. During the week, a peaceful, family atmosphere returns to the suburb. Many of the large colonial houses built for the city's richest families remain in use, but all that remains of Barranco's tram system is a beautifully restored, solitary tram car. Visitors can take a short ride on the car, which leaves from the small Museo de Electricidad.
Miraflores and Barranco suburbs
