What to do in Lima?
 

Three friends and I will be in Lima, Peru for 1 day in September (basically transitioning from MP and waiting to catch our red-eye flight that evening)...is there anything cool that we should see? We are not familiar with Lima. Please advise!

I was in the same situation as you. Had about 8 hours to kill in Lima after arriving from Cuzco and moving on. I took a van from the airport to the Plaza de Armas, and although it was nice to see the center of the city and the historical buildings, it looked a lot like other Plaza de Armases that I had seen in other south American cities. I then cabbed it to an area known as Miraflores, which was a really nice area with restaurants and shops.

I also wanted to see the coast, so the cab driver recommended Larcomar, a shopping mall on the oceanside cliffs. Pretty cool view, but the shopping mall was very modern, and felt more like Southern California than Peru. I ate dinner here, which was fine, and then went bolwing for another hour to kill time. I was by myself, so it was harder to just sit down in a cafe or bar for a while, so bolwing was fun, but there are plenty of eating/drinking options in Miraflores and at Larcomar.

National Museum. Larco Herrera Museum. You would be well advised to get a taxi driver to take you there and back. ((*))

Lima is one of my highlights of my trip to Peru, but it depends on your interest.

I love Spanish colonial architecture and Lima's world heritage historic centre is beautiful. The Plaza Mayor (Plaza de Armas) is beautiful, as is Plaza San Martin. The San Francisco Monastery is very interesting.

I also visited the Rafael Larco Herrera Museum and it was great as well. To relax a bit, Miraflores - a touristy and upscale neighbourhood of Lima - is great. There are lots of restaurants and the Parque del Amor and Huaca Puellna are sites I visited and enjoyed in Miraflores.

I had only one full day in Lima and I wished I had more time...

Find a reputable agent and do a half day tour that concentrates mostly on the old city's central area, historic buildings and churches. There is plenty to see and appreciate with a guide.