Lima

This is Lima. Shrouded in history (and sometimes fog), gloriously messy and full of aesthetic delights, with its high-rise condos built alongside pre-Columbian temples. Lima is also sophisticated, with a civilization that dates back millennia. Stately museums display sublime pottery; solemn religious processions recall the 18th century, and crowded nightclubs dispense tropical beats. No visitor can miss the capital's culinary genius, part of a gastronomic revolution more than 400 years in the making.