The Wandering Hart

Before going to Peru I had a surprising number of people tell me that Lima wasn’t worth spending much time in — the impression I got was it was just my entry and exit to Peru instead of a destination unto itself. However, I figured if I was going to see Peru I should give its capital city a few days of my time and I’m SO glad I did.

Lima isn’t known for having a million tourist attractions but I think that’s half the appeal. It’s a truly beautiful city with coastline, parks, urban art and history, and (most importantly) an incredible food scene. I’d highly recommend at least allotting a few days at either end of a trip to Peru to hit up this very cool city and, if you do, here were a few of my favorite things to consider adding to your itinerary:

Eat Your Heart Out

As mentioned above, Lima is known to have an amazing food scene with multiple Michelin starred restaurants and literally some of the best restaurants in the world. But you don’t even need to make a reservation at the top restaurants to find incredible food. We toured around mostly Barranco and Miraflores and found delicious meals everywhere we went.

I’d recommend picking out a few nicer places to order ceviche. And, yes, you’ll want to order ceviche multiple times in your few days here! Each restaurant puts their own slight spin on it and most will provide the most delicious ceviche you’ve had in your life. My personal favorite? Isolina in Barranco. Sadly there is no photographic evidence because I ate it too fast!

In addition to all the ceviche, be sure to hit up a chifa for some Peruvian-Chinese food. Peru has a long history of Chinese immigrants and as a result a tradition of Chinese-Peruvian fusion dishes has become popular. You’ll notice a ton of chifas throughout the entire city. I’d also recommend trying some churros from a street vendor or restaurant — I noticed most sold churros filled with dulce de leche which was of course delicious.

One last word on food: don’t stick only to ceviche or classic Peruvian dishes and be open to surprises. Our absolute favorite meal in our trip was at a little restaurant called LA 73 in Barranco that we hadn’t done any research on and they served some of the best raviolis I’ve ever had. They also had excellent pisco sours which reminds me…

Drink the Night Away

If you drink alcohol, there’s plenty of options for you to enjoy in Lima. We’re not big on long nights out, but we enjoy a good drink. The most obvious option is the pisco sour, which is Peru’s most famous cocktail and consists of pisco, egg whites, simple syrup, lemon juice, and bitters. However, you should also try a few chilcanos while you’re at it! The chilcano is another pisco-based drink with lime juice, ginger ale, and bitters.

Finally, if cocktails aren’t your thing there are a ton of Peruvian breweries and taprooms scattered throughout Miraflores and Barranco to check out. We really enjoyed Sierra Andina taproom and there were a ton of other taprooms nearby if you wanted to build your own bar crawl.

Enjoy the Greenery in Miraflores

Lima has a lot of greenspace, especially in Miraflores. I definitely recommend spending a day wandering Miraflores and seeing the major parks including those running along the coastline. If you plan to start from Larcomar (a mall looking out over the ocean) you can easily walk along the coastline through several of Lima’s parks with amazing views of the ocean the entire way. You’ll like also spot some windsurfers which is another activity you could add to your trip if you’re daring enough!

I’d also recommend adding a side quest to Parque Kennedy where there is a colony of cats and frequent random events like community dancing and souvenir stalls.

Take in the Art in Barranco

Wandering through Barranco you’re bound to stumble across some amazing street art. There were a ton of beautiful murals scattered throughout the neighborhood. In order to make the most of your time in the neighborhood, I’d recommend taking a leisurely stroll to the Bridge of Sighs and then wandering the neighboring streets — we found most of these had a handful of murals.

Barranco also has quite a few art galleries so if you truly enjoy art it may be worth stopping in. We particularly like Dédalo which had a lot of contemporary art and clothing for sale as well as a very cute cafe. And if you really love art the Museum of Contemporary Art isn’t far! We didn’t fit this in but reviews of the museum look relatively good.

Fine Religion in Plaza de Armas

Finally, I’d recommend spending half a day in the historic center of Lima touring sites near the Plaza de Armas. In particular the Basílica y Convento de San Francisco (the Basilica and Monastery of San Francisco) has an amazing tour taking you through the building itself which is still an active monastery and the catacombs beneath the building. It also has a gorgeous historic library and many interesting pieces of religious art. Pictures aren’t allowed inside and we follow rules over here so I recommend seeing for yourself!

The main square is also surrounded by historic buildings including the Cathedral of Lima and Archbishop’s Palace, which definitely worth a tour if you’re not all churched out! It had a lot of ornate religious displays and some surprise catacombs. Once you’re done there you can finish out your trip with a classic tourist picture with the Lima signs in the main square!