Lima, city of kings and viceroys, capital of Peru, has always been a kind of cultural oasis. Since its founding in 1535, it took only a few decades for the city to become the most important metropolis in Spanish America, concentrating the power and wealth of all the commercial and cultural activities of the Viceroyalty.
Baroque and Renaissance temples, mansions and palaces, universities, archbishoprics and intense cultural activity characterized Lima from the dawn of the 17th century. A symbol of a remarkable cultural blend, the city of Lima boasts three great sources of pride: its refined and innovative culinary art, ranked among the finest in the world; its monumental architecture, a World Cultural Heritage Site; and its people, clever and resourceful, truly experts at adapting to change.
Lima also offers visitors excellent museums, modern shopping and entertainment centers, as well as archaeological and natural attractions.
Lima is located on the shores of the Pacific, which determines a specific climate typical of a coastal city. It has two well-defined seasons: a winter season (May to September) with average temperatures of 18°C and high humidity with light drizzle; and a summer season (December to March) characterized by sunny days and temperatures reaching 30°C.
Tourist Attractions
Historic Center
Considered a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, the historic center of Lima holds countless buildings and architectural monuments of great beauty. Among the most important are: The Cathedral, dating from the 16th century, with its beautiful choir stalls; the Church of Santo Domingo, home to one of the most beautiful domes in the city; and the Church of San Francisco, the largest complex of Colonial Art in the Americas, with its basilica of 21 altars, its cloistered convent, the “de profundis” museum and its underground catacombs.
Lima’s churches are striking for their finishes and majesty, as are its mansions such as the Torre Tagle Palace, the Riva Agüero House or Aliaga House, which together with the residential areas of the contemporary city, make Lima an unforgettable destination.
Larco Herrera Museum
The Rafael Larco Herrera Archaeological Museum holds the largest private collection of Pre-Columbian Peruvian Art in the world. Since its founding in 1926 in Trujillo, and later moved to Lima in 1958, it displays 45,000 pieces organized thematically in its various halls. There you will find the metal, ceramics, textile, lithic, erotic and cultures halls, plus the great jewelry vault and its storage rooms classified by Rafael Larco Hoyle himself, founder of the museum.
The Museum of Archaeology, Anthropology and History of Peru, located in a former residence of viceroys and liberators, is considered the quintessential museum of Peru. Here are preserved the famous stone monuments of the formative era 1000 BC, the “Raimondi Stela” and the “Tello Obelisk.” It also features the most important textile collection, showing fabrics ranging from the pre-ceramic period to the Inca era, as well as an important collection of Ancient Peruvian metalwork. Its new Tawantinsuyo hall stands out, presenting a summary of the 100 years of the Inca Empire, illustrated with models and virtual recreations.
Gold Museum of Peru
This wonderful museum showcases a dazzling collection of gold pieces from various pre-Columbian cultures, some more than 3,000 years old. It displays goldsmith objects and jewelry of incalculable value, crafted in gold, silver and precious stones, highlighting the ornaments and objects used in their heyday by the Incas, sons of the Sun God and monarchs of the vast Inca Empire. The Gold Museum of Peru also exhibits a valuable collection of ancient and modern weapons, considered one of the best of its kind in the world. These halls display armor, uniforms and objects from various eras and places, some dating back to 1,300 BC. This exhibit is known as the World Weapons Museum.
Pachacamac
31 km south of Lima lies the splendid and extensive archaeological citadel of Pachacamac, an ancient pre-Columbian oracle. Built entirely of mud bricks, it was considered, along with Cusco, one of the main places of worship in pre-Hispanic Peru. It was a sacred and ceremonial site from the early Christian era, where thousands of pilgrims came to pay tribute to the god Pachacamac, creator of the universe.
It comprises pyramidal temples and enclosures built by several pre-Columbian cultures, although the Inca section (1440–1533) is the best preserved. The archaeological site features carefully restored palaces, plazas and temples, as well as a Site Museum that houses an interesting collection of pieces found at the location.
Miraflores
Miraflores is without a doubt the quintessential tourist and hotel district of Lima. It has large modern shopping areas, parks and beautiful green spaces, as well as the busiest beaches in the city (Costa Verde). With intense social, artistic and cultural activity, it is a neighborhood of cafes, pubs, restaurants, theaters, cinemas and art galleries, and is also home to an interesting pre-Inca temple known as Huaca Pucllana, one of the many archaeological remains found in Lima.
San Isidro
This is Lima’s “garden” district, characterized by its green areas and exclusive residential neighborhoods. Here you will find some of the capital’s most renowned restaurants, hotels and entertainment venues. San Isidro still retains something of the solemnity of a luxury suburb that characterized it since the early 20th century, such as the El Olivar area, named for the centuries-old olive trees that still stand in its parks. Another of its attractions is one of the pre-Columbian structures it preserves, the Huaca Huallamarca, the site of occasional artistic performances.
Barranco
El principal barrio bohemio de Lima, fue décadas atrás, el balneario de moda de la aristocracia limeña. En los últimos años sus parques han vuelto a florecer, sus casonas de estilo republicano han sido embellecidas y los espectáculos artísticos abundan en sus calles arboladas. Destaca su famoso Puente de los Suspiros, rincón predilecto de los enamorados, y su malecón de cara al Circuito de Playas de la Costa Verde.