Attraction
Plaza Mayor de Lima
Lima's main square, laid out when Francisco Pizarro founded the city in 1535 and framed by the cathedral, the Government Palace and the Municipal Palace.
Museo Pedro de Osma
A 1906 French-style summer mansion in Barranco that houses a collection of more than 400 works of viceregal art, silverwork and Huamanga stone carving in 14 rooms.
At a glance
- Type
- Colonial art museum
- Area
- Barranco, Lima, Peru
- Opening
- Open 6 days a week (closed Monday) · 10:00–18:00
- Official site
- museopedrodeosma.org
Good to know
- Step-free access
- Free wheelchair loan
- Free parking
- Cloakroom
Why we recommend it
The Museo Pedro de Osma shows colonial art in the setting of one of Barranco's grand old summer houses. The Casa de Osma was commissioned in 1906 by Pedro de Osma y Pardo and designed in a French style by Santiago Basurco, at a time when Barranco was the seaside retreat of Lima's wealthy families. It later passed to his children, Pedro and Angélica de Osma Gildemeister, was declared a national monument in 1980 and opened as a museum in 1987, based on the collection Pedro de Osma Gildemeister had assembled. A family foundation has run it since 2004.
The collection runs to more than 400 pieces displayed in 14 themed rooms. Paintings of the Cusco school fill two rooms devoted to the 17th and 18th centuries. Look for the museum's best-known works, the Virgen de la Almudena and the Genealogía de los Incas, a painted genealogy of the Inca rulers. The silver room holds reliquaries, religious objects, utensils, jewellery and even silver weapons, and there are carvings in Huamanga stone and pieces of colonial furniture.
The museum is open from Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 18:00, and closed on Mondays and on a list of holidays published on its website, including several days in late November and December. Children up to the age of ten get in free, there are reduced rates for students and retired visitors, and guided tours can be added for a small extra charge; private and VIP visits are arranged by email. Photography and filming are not allowed anywhere inside, which is worth knowing before you arrive with a camera.
Practical details are good. The museum is accessible for people with reduced mobility and for pushchairs, lends wheelchairs free of charge and admits guide dogs. There is free visitor parking, also open to bicycles, on Jirón Montero Rosas next to the museum, and a free cloakroom for coats and large bags.
The house is less than ten minutes' walk from the Plaza de Armas of Barranco and under ten minutes from the Estadio Unión station on the Metropolitano. Allow about an hour and a half, then continue to the Bridge of Sighs and Barranco's cafés and galleries for the rest of the afternoon.
Museo Pedro de Osma FAQs
What are the opening hours?
Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 18:00; closed on Mondays and on certain holidays listed on the museum website.
Can I take photos inside?
No, photography and audiovisual recording are not allowed inside the museum.
Is it accessible?
Yes, the museum is accessible for people with reduced mobility and for pushchairs, with free wheelchair loan and guide dogs admitted.
Is there parking?
Yes, free visitor parking is available at Jirón Montero Rosas 182, next to the museum, and bicycles can be left there too.
Are there guided tours?
Yes, guided tours cost a small supplement on top of entry, and private or VIP visits are arranged by email.
Do children pay?
Children up to ten years old enter free.
How do I get there?
It is less than ten minutes on foot from Barranco's Plaza de Armas and from the Estadio Unión Metropolitano station.
What is the collection?
More than 400 works of viceregal art, including Cusco school paintings, silverwork and Huamanga stone carvings, in 14 rooms.