Things to do in Lima
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FEATURED
Temple of Pachacamac Half-Day Tour from Lima
3 hours (Departs Lima, Peru)
by Viator
Join a half-day tour to the famous Pachacamac Temple, located only a short distance from Lima. Built by different leaders throughout the centuries and between t…Not LP reviewed
- All things to do
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Museo Rafael Larco Herrera
An 18th-century viceroy mansion built on the site of a pre-Columbian pyramid houses the highly recommended privately-run Museo Rafael Larco Herrera , has one of the largest ceramics collections to be found anywhere.
It is said to include over 50,000 pots, many of which were collected in the 1920s by a former vice president of Peru. The first rooms resemble a storeroom, stacked right to the ceilings with an overwhelming jumble of ceramics. Further into the museum, the best pieces are displayed in the uncluttered manner they deserve. They include a selection of gold and silver pieces, feathered textiles and an astonishing Paracas weaving that contains 398 threads to the lin…
reviewed
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Restaurant Huaca Pucllana
This sophisticated establishment overlooks the illuminated ruins at Huaca Pucllana. The menu consists of a skillfully rendered and beautifully presented array of contemporary Peruvian dishes (from grilled cuy to seafood chowders), along with a smattering of Italian-fusion specialties. Save room for the pisco and lemon parfait come dessert.
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Museo Nacional de Antropología, Arqueología e Historía del Perú
The Museo Nacional de Antropología, Arqueología e Historía del Perú traces the history of Peru from the Preceramic Period to the early republic. Displays include the famous Raimondi Stela, a 2.1m rock carving from the Chavín culture, one of the first Andean cultures to have a widespread, recognizable artistic style. The building was once the home of revolutionary heroes San Martín (from 1821 to 1822) and Bolívar (from 1823 to 1826) and the museum contains late-colonial and early republic paintings, including an 18th-century rendering of the Last Supper in which Christ and his disciples feast on cuy (guinea pig).
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Monasterio de San Francisco
This bright yellow Franciscan monastery and church is most famous for its bone-lined catacombs (containing an estimated 70,000 burials) and its remarkable library, where you can take in the sight of 25,000 antique texts, some of them predating the conquest. But this baroque structure has many other things worth seeing: the most spectacular is a geometric Moorish-style cupola, over the main staircase, which was carved in 1625 (restored 1969) out of Nicaraguan cedar. In addition, the refectory contains 13 paintings, of the biblical patriarch Jacob and his 12 sons, attributed to the studio of Spanish master Francisco de Zurbarán.
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Matsuei
None other than the venerated Japanese super-chef Nobu Matsuhisa once co-owned this diminutive sushi bar, now situated on a San Isidro side street. Don’t let the modest appearance fool you: Matsuei serves up some of the most spectacular sashimi and maki (sushi rolls) in Lima. A must-have: the ‘acevichado, ’ a roll stuffed with shrimp and avocado, and then doused in a house-made mayo infused with ceviche broth. It will make your brain tingle in all the right places.
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Museo Taurino
The Plaza de Acho, Lima’s bullring, has been located on the same site north of the Río Rímac since 1766. Here, some of the world’s most famous toreadors have taken on the bulls, among them the renowned Manolete from Spain. The Museo Taurino documents this history with cluttered displays of weapons, paintings, photographs and the gilded outfits worn by a succession of bullfighters – one of which includes gore holes and blood.
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Vista al Mar
When the smell of garlic hits your nose on a Pacific sea breeze, you know you will dine well. Built into the clifftop and with its balcony dangling out over the sea, Vista al Mar is an elegant, modern restaurant serving a variety of meals and snacks. Fish and ceviche are wise options. It also does a great breakfast buffet at weekends. Watch for the occasional paraglider floating past along the cliffs.
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El Cordano
A Lima institution since 1905, this old-world dining hall has, at some point or another, counted practically every Peruvian president for the last 100 years as a customer (the presidential palace is right across the street). It is known for its skillfully rendered tacu tacu (pan-fried rice and beans) and butifarra (French bread stuffed with country ham).
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La Rosa Nautica
Location, location, location. Though you can get the same (or better) seafood elsewhere for less, the views at this eatery on the historic pier are unparalleled. Go during happy hour (5pm to 7pm), when you can watch the last of the day’s surfers skim along the crests of the waves. Take a taxi to the pier and walk the last 100m.
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Café Café
- Lima, Peru
- Restaurants › Café
Café Café in Mártir Olaya advertises 120 different drinks, gourmet coffees, sandwiches and desserts. The other branch at LarcoMar branch, Malecon de la Reserva 610, is the place to see and be seen, with a great location looking directly out to sea and down to the surfers below; it's not for sufferers of vertigo.
reviewed
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Temple of Pachacamac Half-Day Tour from Lima
3 hours (Departs Lima, Peru)
by Viator
Join a half-day tour to the famous Pachacamac Temple, located only a short distance from Lima. Built by different leaders throughout the centuries and between t…Not LP reviewed
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Plaza de Armas
Also called Plaza Mayor, the 140-sq-meter Plaza de Armas was once the heart of Lima. Though not one original building remains, the impressive bronze fountain in the center is its oldest feature, erected in 1650, and its oldest building is the cathedral, which was reconstructed after the 1746 earthquake.
reviewed
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Lima To Cuzco
17 days (ex Lima)
by Intrepid
Spot penguins and boobies on the Ballestas Islands, Puzzle over the mysterious Nazca Lines, Visit the funerary towers at the Chauchilla Cemetery, Spot Andean co…Not LP reviewed
from USD$1,080 -
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Xocolatl
- Lima, Peru
- Restaurants › Other
Run by pastry chef Giovanna Maggiolo, Xocolatl is a sleek chocolatier specializing in contemporary Peruvian sweets, some sporting designs inspired by pre-Columbian textiles. Expect fillings such as coffee, pisco and Ranfañote, a traditional dessert made with coconut, molasses and nuts.
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Museo de Historia Natural
One block west of cuadra 12 of Av Arequipa, south of the Parque de la Reserva, the Museo de Historia Natural, run by the Universidád de San Marcos, has a modest taxidermy collection that’s a useful overview of Peruvian fauna.
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La Costa Verde
Located directly on the Barranco beachfront, this sophisticated restaurant is recommended for its excellent seafood.
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El Estadio Fútbol Club
A good evening hangout is the El Estadio Fútbol Club, a soccer-fanatic hangout-restaurant.
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Museo de Oro del Perú
The now notorious Museo de Oro del Perú, a private museum, was a Lima must-see until 2001, when a study revealed that 85% of the museum’s metallurgical pieces were fakes. It reopened with an assurance that works on display are bona fide – and some vitrines bear cards that classify certain pieces as ‘reproductions’ – but the cluttered, poorly signed exhibits leave something to be desired. Better presented and more convenient is the new annex ( [tel] 620-6222; www.larcomar.com/salamuseo; LarcoMar, Malecón de la Reserva 610, Miraflores; admission S25; [hrs] 10am-10pm), in the seaside shopping mall of LarcoMar.
reviewed
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Classic Inca Trail
12 days (Lima)
Trek the legendary Inca Trail to Machu Picchu and explore Cusco.
Not LP reviewed
from USD$2,320 Advertisement
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Palacio de Gobierno
The exquisitely balconied Palacio Arzobispal (Archbishop's Palace) to the left of the cathedral in Plaza de Armas is a relatively modern building, dating to 1924. On the northeast side, the Palacio de Gobierno was built in 1937 and is the residence of Peru's president. A handsomely uniformed presidential guard is on duty here all day; the ceremonial changing of the guard takes place at noon.
It's a struggle to get into the palace, which is by free guided tour only (Spanish and English) and has to be organized 48 hours in advance at the nearby Office of Public Relations. Ask a guard to point you in the right direction. On the corner of the plaza, opposite the cathedral, th…
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Museo Larco
An 18th-century viceroy’s mansion houses this museum, which has one of the largest, best-presented displays of ceramics in Lima. Founded by Rafael Larco Hoyle in 1926, a dedicated collector and cataloguer of all things pre-Columbian, the collection is said to include, among other things, more than 50,000 pots (with thousands of extras housed in glass storerooms, which visitors can also see). The museum showcases ceramic works from the Cupisnique, Chimú, Chancay, Nazca and Inca cultures, but the highlight is the sublime Moche portrait vessels, presented in simple, dramatically lit cases. Equally astonishing: a Wari weaving in one of the rear galleries that contains 398 t…
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Iglesia de Santo Domingo
One of Lima’s most storied religious sites, the Iglesia de Santo Domingo and its expansive monastery are built on land granted to the Dominican Friar Vicente de Valverde, who accompanied Pizarro throughout the conquest and was instrumental in persuading him to execute the captured Inca Atahualpa. Originally completed in the 16th century, this impressive pink church has been rebuilt and remodeled at various points since. It is most renowned as the final resting place for three important Peruvian saints: San Juan Macías, Santa Rosa de Lima and San Martín de Porres (the continent’s first black saint). The convent – a sprawling courtyard-studded complex lined with baroque p…
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Museo de la Nación
A brutalist concrete tower houses the catch-all Museo de la Nación, which provides a cursory overview of Peru’s civilizations, from Chavín stone carvings and the knotted rope quipus of the Incas to artifacts from the colony. Large traveling international exhibits are also shown here (often for an extra fee), but if there is a single reason to visit this museum, it is to view a permanent installation on the 6th floor called Yuyanapaq. The exhibit, named after the Quechua word meaning ‘to remember, ’ was created by Peru’s Truth & Reconciliation Commission in 2003 and is a moving and beautifully installed photographic tribute to the Internal Conflict (1980–2000). Student…
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Pachacamac
Situated about 31km southeast of the city center, the archaeological complex of Pachacamac is a pre-Columbian citadel made up of adobe and stone palaces and temple pyramids. If you’ve been to Machu Picchu, it may not look like much, but this was an important Inca site and a major city when the Spanish arrived. It began as a ceremonial center for the Lima culture beginning at about AD 100, and was later expanded by the Waris before being taken over by the Ichsma. The Incas added numerous other structures upon their arrival to the area in 1450. The name Pachacamac, which can be variously translated as ‘He who Animated the World’ or ‘He who Created Land and Time, ’ comes fro…
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