Lima

Lima sits on the central coast of Peru, on a stretch of desert cut by the Rímac River, with the Pacific Ocean on one side and the first foothills of the Andes on the other. Founded by the Spaniard Francisco Pizarro in 1535 as Ciudad de los Reyes, it was the capital of the Viceroyalty of Peru and the center of Spanish power in South America for almost three centuries. Today it holds about a third of the country's population and is the gateway for almost every trip to Peru.

The historic center, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1988, revolves around the Plaza Mayor, with the Cathedral, the Palacio de Gobierno and the Palacio Municipal, and spreads through streets of mansions with enclosed wooden balconies, the famous sacadas limeñas. A few blocks away are the Convento de San Francisco, with its catacombs and old library, and the church of Santo Domingo. Further south, the Parque de la Reserva houses the Circuito Mágico del Agua, and the Parque de la Exposición contains the Museo de Arte de Lima.

Pre‑Spanish Lima appears in the middle of the city: the Huaca Pucllana, an adobe pyramid from the Lima culture, occupies a full block of Miraflores, and the Museo Larco, in Pueblo Libre, displays millennia of pre-Columbian ceramics, gold and textiles. Thirty kilometers to the south, the sanctuary of Pachacamac was one of the largest pilgrimage centers on the coast for more than a thousand years.

Miraflores and Barranco, on the cliffs, are the neighborhoods where most travelers stay: the Malecón has parks and a bike path over the sea, and Barranco mixes early‑20th‑century mansions, murals and galleries around the Puente de los Suspiros. Food is part of the trip: ceviche, tiradito, causa and the pisco sour are served throughout the city.

This destination brings together 1 city: Lima.