5 Best Sights in Lima, Peru

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 hosts temporary exhibitions by national and international artists, while the second level houses a permanent exhibition that spans Peru's past, with everything from pre-Columbian artifacts and colonial-era art to republican-era paintings and drawings that provide a glimpse into 19th- and 20th-century Peruvian life. One of the museum's treasures is the collection of quipus, or "talking knots"—webs of strings that were the closest thing the Incas had to writing.

Leave time to sip an espresso in the café near the entrance.

Hot-pink bougainvillea spills over the white walls of this lovely colonial mansion, which is built atop a pre-Columbian temple. What those walls house is the city's most exquisite collection of ancient art, with works from all of Peru's major pre-Hispanic cultures spanning several thousand years. Highlights include a Moche stirrup vessel detailing grisly human sacrifices, a selection of Inca quipus (knots used for record-keeping), and thousands of ceramic "portrait heads" that give astonishingly realistic insights into their subjects' personalities. The sala erótica reveals that Peru's ancient artisans were an uninhibited lot, creating clay pottery adorned with explicit sexual images. Guides are a good idea, and the cost is just S/35 per group. The café overlooking the museum's garden is an excellent option for lunch or dinner.

Even if it contained no art, this century-old Beaux-Arts mansion would be worth the trip for its design elements alone. The mansard-roofed structure—with inlaid wood floors, delicately painted ceilings, and stained-glass windows in every room—was the home of a wealthy collector of religious artifacts. The best of his collection is permanently on display. The finest of the paintings, the 18th-century Virgen de Pomata, combines Marian iconography with Indigenous symbols in the Holy Mother's mountain-shaped robes festooned with garlands of corn. Other halls contain canvases of archangels, fine silverwork, and sculptures of Huamanga alabaster. Make sure to visit the manicured grounds.

Although relatively small, this private museum of pre-Columbian artifacts holds some of the city's best textiles, in addition to well-preserved ceramics and other handiwork. The museum was founded by Japanese businessman and collector Yoshitaro Amano in 1964 and expanded and remodeled by his offspring in 2015. The chronological exhibition charts Peru's artistic development from 800 BC to the 15th century across four halls packed with well-preserved pieces from pre-Inca cultures, including the Paracas, Nazca, Moche, and Chancay. The impressive collection of weavings contains some that are almost 2,000 years old; miraculously, many have retained their vivid colors and (sometimes comic) imagery. Displays are in English and Spanish; you can also call ahead to reserve an English-speaking guide.

This museum is run by a privately funded institute on land donated by the Municipality of Barranco. Its minimalistic, rectangular exhibition spaces house a permanent collection by Latin American and European artists that dates from the past 60 years, as well as temporary shows that change every few months. The main hall overlooks a metal sculpture by Veronica Wiesse perched over a reflection pond; beyond it lies a small park that's used for fairs and other events.