19 Best Sights in Lima, Peru

Rising out of a nondescript residential neighborhood is Lima's most-visited huaca, or pre-Columbian temple—a huge, mud-brick platform pyramid that covers several city blocks. The site, which dates from at least the 5th century, has ongoing excavations, and new discoveries are announced every so often. A tiny museum highlights a few of those finds. Knowledgeable, English-speaking guides will lead you through reconstructed sections to the pyramid's top platform and, from there, to an area that is being excavated. This site is most beautiful at night, when parts of it are illuminated. Thirty-minute partial tours are available during this time.

Built in 1871 as the Palacio de la Exposición, this mammoth neoclassical structure was designed by the Italian architect Antonio Leonardi, with metal columns from the workshop of Gustav Eiffel (who later built the famous Parisian tower). The ground floor holds temporary exhibitions by both national and international artists, and the second floor houses a permanent exhibition that spans Peru's past, with everything from pre-Columbian artifacts to colonial-era art to republican-era paintings and drawings that provide a glimpse into Peruvian life in the 19th and early-20th centuries. One of the museum's treasures is the collection of quipus, or "talking knots": collars of strings tied with an array of knots, each with a distinct meaning (the closest thing the Incas had to writing). Leave time to sip an espresso in the café near the entrance.

This massive square has been the center of the city since 1535. Over the years it has served many functions, from open-air theater for melodramas to impromptu ring for bullfights. Huge fires once burned in the center for people sentenced to death by the Spanish Inquisition. Much has changed over the years, but one thing remaining is the bronze fountain unveiled in 1651. It was here that José de San Martín declared the country's independence from Spain in 1821.

This cobbled walkway leading down to the "baths"—Barranco's beaches—is shaded by leafy trees and lined with historic architecture. Once the route local fishermen took to reach their boats, it's now a popular promenade at night, when boleros and ballads can be heard from the adjoining restaurants. At the bottom of the hill, a covered wooden bridge takes you across a busy road, the Circuito de Playas, to a promenade containing beaches and restaurants. A short walk to the north is Playa Barranquito; Playa Agua Dulce is half a mile south.

Two royal palms stand guard, and a red carpet leads up the stairs to the entrance of this stately hotel built in 1926. Widely regarded as the city's most elegant hotel, its lobby and halls are decorated with colonial art on loan from the Museo Pedro de Osma. Even if you stay elsewhere, it's worth dropping by for a drink on the terrace or in the pub. If you feel like a light meal in the early evening, consider the English-style high tea.

Inaugurated in 1912, Desamparados Station was the centerpiece for the continent's first railway, which stretched from the port of Callao to the Andean city of Huancayo. The station was named for a Jesuit church and monastery that stood next door at the time of its construction but that have since been demolished. It now holds the Casa de la Literatura Peruana (House of Peruvian Literature), with exhibits on national writers and a reading library. It's well worth stepping inside to admire the building's elegant art nouveau interior, especially the stained-glass skylight.

Lucía de la Puente represents some of the best artists in Peru, as well as other South American nations, at Lima's premier gallery, which occupies a historic house on Barranco's most charming street. Some of de la Puente's private collection is on display next door, in the public areas of Hotel B.

This mud-brick pyramid, thought to be a place of worship, predates the Incas. Painstakingly restored on the front side, it seems out of place among the neighborhood's upscale homes and apartment buildings. Here you'll find a small museum with displays of objects found at the site, including several mummies. From the upper platform you can take in views of San Isidro.

The 1713 Church of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph may be smaller than some of El Centro's other sanctuaries, but inside is a feast for the eyes. Retablos representing various saints rise from the main altar and line both walls. This is the only church in Lima to retain its original baroque ornamentation, untouched by earthquakes or changing artistic fads.

Nothing about this colonial-era church could be called restrained. Take the pink-and-gray stone facade, for instance: done in an over-the-top style known as churrigueresco, it piles on twisty Solomonic columns, geometric cornices, a scalloped entryway, and an arms-outstretched statue of the Virgin that gestures down at worshippers below. The interior is no different. The main altar has a stunning monstrance and a silverwork medallion from the 16th century, while the intricately carved choir stalls, dating from the 1700s, have images of cherubic singers. You could lose yourself for hours contemplating the layer upon layer of detail in this stunning temple. Don't miss the grave of Fr. Urraca, a Lima saint said to have been tempted by the devil within these very walls.

The Jesuits built three churches in rapid succession on this corner, inaugurating the current temple in 1638. It remains one of the finest examples of early-colonial religious architecture in Peru. The facade is remarkably restrained, but the interior shows all the extravagance of the era, including a series of baroque retablos thought to be the best in the city. The one dedicated to St. Francis Xavier soars to an apocalyptic culmination, with carved saints and angels towering over the viewer. Also notable are the canvases by Bernardo Bitti, who arrived on these shores from Italy in 1575 and influenced an entire generation of painters with his style. In the sacristy is The Coronation of the Virgin, one of his most famous works. Don't miss the side aisle, where gilded arches lead to chapels decorated with beautiful hand-painted tiles.

The large gallery in the lower floor of the Instituto Cultural Peruano Norteamericano primarily exhibits the work of contemporary Peruvian artists, with a new show every month. Each year in July or August, however, it exhibits a collection of traditional Andean folk art, which is well worth seeing.

Although it resembles the colonial-era buildings that abound in the area, City Hall was constructed in 1944. Step into the foyer to see the stained-glass windows above the marble staircase. To the south of the building is a popular pedestrian walkway called the Portal de los Escribanos, or Passage of the Scribes, lined with restaurants. On the right, you'll find the entrance to a small gallery run by City Hall that hosts exhibitions by Peruvian artists.

Eager to prove it was a world-class capital, Lima hosted an international exposition in 1872. Several of the buildings constructed for the event still stand, including the neoclassical Palacio de la Exposición, which now serves as the Museo de Arte de Lima. Meanwhile, the park itself has become a busy meetup spot. Stroll through the grounds, and you'll find the eye-popping Pabellón Morisco, or Moorish Pavillion. Painstakingly restored, this Gothic-style structure has spiral staircases leading to a stained-glass salon on the second floor. The nearby Pabellón Bizantino, or Byzantine Pavilion, most closely resembles a turret from a Victorian-era mansion.

For years, this rambling olive grove was slowly being eroded, as homes for wealthy limeños were built in and around its perimeter. The process was halted in the 1960s, in time to save more than 1,500 gnarled olive trees. Some of the trees are four centuries old and still bear fruit. A network of sidewalks, flower beds, fountains, and playgrounds makes this 20-hectare (50-acre) park a popular spot on weekend afternoons.

What locals call Parque Kennedy is, strictly speaking, two parks. A smaller section, near the óvalo, or roundabout, is Parque 7 de Junio, whereas the rest of it is Parque Kennedy proper. On the park's east side stands Miraflores's stately Parroquia La Virgen Milagrosa (Church of the Miraculous Virgin), built in the 1930s on the site of a colonial church. The equally young colonial-style building behind it is the Municipalidad de Miraflores (district town hall). Several open-air cafés along the park's eastern edge serve decent food and drink. At night, a round cement structure in front of those cafés called La Rotonda fills up with handicraft vendors, and the park becomes especially lively. Street vendors also sell popcorn and traditional Peruvian desserts such as picarones (fried donuts bathed in molasses), mazamorra morada (a pudding made with blue-corn juice and fruit), and arroz con leche (rice pudding). This park is the most popular meetup spot for the entire district.

Elegant royal palms, swirls of purple-and-yellow bougainvillea, and the surrounding colonial architecture make this park a Lima standout. Its southern end is lined with historic buildings, the most prominent of which is the library, with its pink clock tower. To the west stands Barranco's Iglesia La Hermita, a lovely neo-Gothic structure unfortunately closed to the public since its roof caved in during a 1940 earthquake. A nearby staircase leads down to the Puente de los Suspiros and Bajada de los Baños.

On the southern end of the Palacio Municipal de Miraflores (town hall), around the corner from Parque Miraflores, is the Sala Luis Miró Quesada Garland: one of the district's most popular galleries. It exhibits the work of Peruvian painters, sculptors, and photographers, with a new artist exhibiting each month.