Before I went to Lima, Peru everything I read said there was absolutely no reason to spend much time in the city. Stay a day or two and go on to more interesting places like Machu Picchu and the Amazon, they said. I, however, have never been one to follow the crowd. I’m a city girl, and I like to travel slowly. So I spent nearly three weeks exploring Lima, and I don’t regret the time spent there at all. This is what I did:

• Explore the city
• Learn the history and explore the culture
• Day trips outside the city
• Eat!

Exploring Lima City Proper

Barranco

I stayed in the Barranco neighborhood, and I’m really happy I did! Usually gringo’s stay in Miraflores or Barranco, but I feel that Barranco is the more chill, artsy, bohemian option of the two. Some highlights of this hood include

• Puente de Los Suspiros (Bridge of Sighs)
• El Malecon (walk or ride the cliffs that overlook the sea…these paths run the length of Barranco and Miraflores)
• Street Art. The neighborhood is full of it! There are some mainstays, and others ever-changing
• Amazing restaurants! Some of the top restaurants such as Central and Merito reside here

Side note: If you want to check out a cool, non-touristy neighborhood, I’d recommend Magdalena. You’ll get a good idea of local life, and there’s a cool market there.

Bosque El Olivar, San Isidro

Very cute, peaceful park lined with groves of olive trees in the middle of the city.

Check Out El Centro

You can really get to understand Lima’s beginnings by checking out El Centro. The architecture in the Plaza de Armas, La Muralla, the literary center; all hold a story. There’s also tons of local foods in and around the market there.

History and Culture

If you’re interested in a bit of history and culture, here are a few things I really enjoyed and would recommend.

• Larco Museum. Go hear to learn about Ancient Peruvian art and artifacts. I thought the museum was very well organized, and gave a good view of the different groups that inhabited the area and their timelines.
• Basilica and Convent of San Francisco (Museum & Catacombs). An ancient songbook on display, a beautifully preserved library, and more. It was very interesting seeing how the monks lived, and quite beautiful. Also the catacombs underneath the building were cool.
• Afro Peruvian Jazz at Jazz Zone. This venue in Miraflores usually has an Afro Peruvian band each week. The band I saw was high energy and knew how to work the crowd.

Exploring Lima Includes Day Trips from Lima!

Three in One – Paracas, Huacachina, Ica

I took an airbnb day trip that mashed three different locations and activities into one. We first visited Paracas, took a boat out to the Ballestas Islands and saw sea lions and penguins. We learned about the environment and why the geoglyph carved on the slope of a hill doesn’t dissipate. Then we came ashore, walked the boardwalk, and had some very tasty ceviche.

We hopped back in our van and went to Huacachina…the Oasis in the sandy desert. Actually, much of Peru’s coast from Lima on down is desert, which was made abundantly clear as we took this road trip. Watching the rolling sandy hills jut out to meet the sea just blew my mind! As soon as we arrived, we got into some sand buggies and were taken on the joy ride of our lives; up, down, and across the sand dunes outside of Huacachina. Afterwards, we were invited to sand board down some dunes on our tummies, which was so fun!

Lastly, we went to Ica city and had traditional food at a winery. We tried different wines and piscos and learned how they are made.

Chincha & El Carmen

On another occasion, I took a solo day trip about three hours south of the Lima to Chincha and El Carmen. I was curious about exploring Afro-Peruvian culture, and El Carmen is known as a beating heart for this culture. So I took a bus from Lima to Chincha Alta, explored there a bit, and subsequently took a taxi to El Carmen. If you want to read more about my completely solo excursion, click here.

Exploring Lima: Eat!

I ate a lot of food during my time in Lima. In fact, Lima is known as a gastronomic powerhouse, and so I’m happy to say that I focused much of my trip around meals.

Eating To-Do’s

First I want to say, do a street food tour! As a tourist, it’s hard to know what and where to eat off the street. You want to taste the local cuisine, but it can be daunting. I joined in on a street food tour that I would highly recommend. We tried so much food, and the guide, Bruce, was super knowledgeable and engaging. Some of the things we ate include: plaintain con queso, fruit, ceviche, chicha morada, chinese dumpling, sopa seco, chicken with beans and rice, anticuchos, picarones, papa rellena…basically all the local essentials.

Otherwise, these were some of my culinary standouts:

• Merito
• Arepa Cafe. The cachapas had me in a chokehold.
• Saha. Not Peruvian food, but damn good. I had pulpo and an amazing lamb shank
• La Muralla. Alleged to be the best lomo saltado in town, and it did not disappoint. Plus, the restaurant is in a historical ruins site right in the middle of El Centro, so that was pretty cool
• Churros from Churreria San Francisco. These were fresh and hot. I tried the dulce de leche without powdered sugar. Be warned the Peruvian churros are probably not what you picture when you think of churro (not like Mexican at all). 
• El Chinito pork sandwich
• Canta Ramita. I tended not to be a huge fan of causas when I tasted them, but the causitas at this restaurant were really good!
• Arlotia basque restaurant
• Alanya Repostería 
• Cevicheria Barra Maretazo

Places I would not Recommend

• Kinjo Ramen – The ramen was salty, and the meat texture in the potstickers was weird
• Pan Sal Aire – I had a benedict. It was small and not cooked well
• Pizza at Amici – Not bad, but unremarkable pizza

Fin

Lima doesn’t get a lot of love with travelers, but I feel like exploring the food alone warrants much more than a few days. I took this trip slowly, and I feel like I learned so much. Is it a place I walked away feeling like I’d want to live there? Definitely not. Lol. But Peru is a country steeped in history and culture. And Lima with its thriving culinary scene, beautiful ocean views, and interesting history make it someplace definitely worth getting to know.

If you’re interested in hearing more about traveling in Peru, check out my post on Arequipa or my adventure keeping one of my travel rituals alive while visiting Arequipa. And as always, I’d love to hear about your travel adventures, instances when you pushed your comfort zone, and feedback about my content!

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