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.
The things to do in Lima range from colonial churches and pre-Inca pyramids to clifftop walks above the Pacific and some of the most celebrated restaurants in the world. Peru's capital was founded by Francisco Pizarro in 1535, and its historic centre, around the Plaza Mayor, the cathedral and the great convents of San Francisco and Santo Domingo, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Most visitors stay further south in Miraflores, whose malecón runs along the top of the cliffs, or in Barranco, the old seaside resort that is now the city's bohemian and artistic quarter. San Isidro, the business district, has some of the best hotels and bars.
Food is the main reason many people come. Lima is home to Central and Maido, both named the world's best restaurant in recent years, as well as cebicherías, chifas rooted in the Barrio Chino and old taverns serving pisco. Museums such as Museo Larco and MALI explain the country's long history, and Huaca Pucllana and Pachacamac show what stood here before the Inca. Two to three days cover the main sights and a few great meals before you travel on to Cusco or the Amazon.
Attraction
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.
Attraction
A private museum of pre-Columbian Peruvian art in an 18th-century viceroyal building in Pueblo Libre, known for its gold and silver gallery, erotic ceramics and walk-through…
Attraction
A 17th-century Franciscan church and convent in Lima's historic centre, visited for its Baroque facade, tiled cloister, old library and the catacombs beneath the church.
Attraction
The cathedral on the east side of the Plaza Mayor, rebuilt several times after earthquakes, holds the tomb of Francisco Pizarro and a museum of colonial…
Attraction
A large adobe pyramid built by the Lima culture between about AD 200 and 700, preserved in the middle of Miraflores with a small site museum…
Attraction
A vast pre-Hispanic sanctuary in the Lurín valley about 40 km south-east of Lima, used for some 1,300 years and crowned by the Inca Temple of…
Café
Jonathan Day's bakery-café, founded in 2011, known for naturally fermented loaves made with local flours and grains, served with Peruvian coffee on Avenida La Mar.
Café
The specialty coffee brand of champion barista Harry Neira, whose original café on Calle Enrique Palacios in Miraflores serves beans from Cusco and Cajamarca.
Café
A Barranco café and roastery from a coffee business founded in 1958, roasting Peruvian beans daily from regions such as San Ignacio, Satipo and Villa Rica.
Café
A specialty coffee roaster founded in 2013 that works directly with Peruvian producers, listed among the world's 100 best coffee shops in 2025.
Café
A Peruvian specialty coffee brand with about ten cafés in Lima and Arequipa, roasting small lots in-house and buying directly from farming communities.
Café
The café-restaurant in the gardens of Museo Larco, open daily with a homemade menu of Peruvian and international dishes, Sunday brunch and free entry without a…
Hotel
An 87-room luxury hotel on the Miraflores clifftop with Pacific views, a heated rooftop pool, a spa and the Tragaluz and Observatory restaurants.
Hotel
A five-star 1927 hotel in San Isidro, recognised as a national monument, with 83 rooms, art on loan from the Museo Pedro de Osma and the…
Hotel
A large luxury hotel on the Malecón de la Reserva in Miraflores with ocean views, a seasonal outdoor pool, a spa and restaurants including the JW…
Hotel
A boutique hotel in a 1914 Barranco summer mansion, open since 2013 and the only Relais & Châteaux hotel in Lima, with art tours, a rooftop…
Hotel
A nine-room boutique hotel in a 1940s family mansion on a leafy residential corner of Miraflores, with a library, house bicycles and evening drinks.
Hotel
A mid-range hotel built around a 1923 Spanish colonial-style mansion in central Miraflores, with garden-view rooms and the Arte Kafe restaurant.
Bar
Alonso Palomino and Gabriela León's cocktail bar, now in Barranco, ranked ninth on The World's 50 Best Bars 2026 for its seasonal journeys through Peruvian ingredients.
Bar
A speakeasy hidden behind a working tailor's shop on Avenida La Mar in Miraflores, with live Latin music and cocktails inspired by Peru's ingredients and textiles.
Bar
The bar of the historic 1927 Country Club Lima Hotel, famous for its pisco sours and named Lima's best bar at the Summum awards in 2012,…
Bar
A restaurant-bar in the restored Mansión Berninzon, a late-19th-century Barranco house of over 1,200 square metres, known for its pisco sours and coca-leaf cocktails.
Bar
A bar founded in 1905 by Italian immigrants opposite the Government Palace, where most of Peru's presidents have dined, known for butifarra sandwiches and pisco cocktails.
Bar
A Pueblo Libre tavern whose story begins around 1880 with the Queirolo family's general store, serving piscos, wines, sandwiches and traditional Peruvian dishes.
Restaurant
Virgilio Martínez and Pía León's tasting-menu restaurant in Barranco, named the world's best restaurant in 2023, built around ingredients from Peru's coast, Andes and Amazon.
Restaurant
Mitsuharu Tsumura's Nikkei restaurant in Miraflores, ranked first on The World's 50 Best Restaurants in 2025, serving a 12-course tasting menu that blends Peru and Japan.
Restaurant
Pía León's own restaurant in Barranco, opened in 2018 and ranked second in Latin America in 2025, known for bold, colourful cooking with native Peruvian ingredients.
Restaurant
The restaurant that launched Gastón Acurio and Astrid Gutsche in 1994, now in the historic Casa Moreyra hacienda in San Isidro, serving contemporary Peruvian cooking.
Restaurant
Jaime Pesaque's flagship restaurant on Avenida La Mar in Miraflores, serving refined contemporary Peruvian cooking à la carte and as the ten-course Mayta Experience.
Restaurant
Rafael Osterling's lunch-only seafood restaurant in Miraflores, with a courtyard dining room, a cocktail bar and a menu of ceviches, scallops and octopus.
Thing to do
A walk through Barranco centred on the wooden Bridge of Sighs, first opened in 1876, with the Bajada de Baños path leading beneath it down to…
Thing to do
A walk along the clifftop boardwalk of Miraflores to the Parque del Amor, opened in 1993, with Víctor Delfín's sculpture El Beso and mosaic walls of…
Thing to do
Lima's Chinatown in Barrios Altos, centred on Calle Capón and Jirón Paruro, with its 1971 Chinese arch, community temples and the chifa restaurants it gave the…
Thing to do
A walk from the Plaza Mayor along Jirón de la Unión to Plaza San Martín, opened in 1921 for Peru's independence centenary and framed by 1920s…
Thing to do
The beaches below Lima's cliffs, linked by the Circuito de Playas road, with surf spots such as La Pampilla and a cycle path south to Agua…
Tour operator
A family-owned Lima tour company founded in 2011, offering city, food, bike and shanty-town tours with hotel pick-up and supporting a sister charity.
Tour operator
A Miraflores-based food tour company with more than 14 years of experience, running morning and afternoon Lima food tours, a cooking class and private tours.
Tour operator
A Lima sightseeing company with over 15 years of experience, running red panoramic bus tours from Miraflores to the historic centre, Costa Verde and Magic Water…
Tour operator
A Miraflores bike tour company established in 2007, offering private cycling tours of Miraflores and Barranco, guided walks of the historic centre and bike rental.
Tour operator
A Lima-based travel company founded in 1956 that designs and runs tailor-made trips in Peru, from Lima's history and food to archaeology, nature and Amazon cruises.
Two to three days are enough for the historic centre, Miraflores, Barranco, a museum such as Museo Larco and a couple of memorable meals; add a half-day for Pachacamac.
Miraflores is the most convenient base, with the clifftop malecón and many hotels and restaurants. Barranco suits travellers who want character and nightlife, and San Isidro is quieter and close to the business district.
Jorge Chávez International Airport is in Callao, about 20 km from Miraflores. Most visitors take a taxi or a hotel transfer, which takes around 45 minutes to Miraflores or Barranco depending on traffic.
It covers every budget. A pan con chicharrón at El Chinito costs little, mid-range cebicherías and taverns are good value, and tasting menus at Central or Maido are a major splurge.
Most visits are trouble-free if you take normal big-city precautions: use registered taxis or ride-hailing apps, keep valuables out of sight in crowded areas and visit the historic centre in daylight.