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Blog | Lima By Walking | Free Walking Tour
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Blog | Lima By Walking | Free Walking Tour
Declared a World Heritage Site of UNESCO since 1991, the Unique Spanish Architecture Style of the City Centre is going to capture your attention. The Main Square (Plaza de Armas) with Spanish balconies in all its buildings; Plaza San Martín and Gran Hotel Bolivar in honour to the Liberators of South America; or Jirón de la Unión (a unique shopping street) with Art Deco and Art Nouveau Architecture are waiting for you.
Join and enjoy! Let the Local Tour Guides lead you to discover all the secrets of the City. Find more info for the Free Walking Tour Lima here.
If you are already in the Historic Centre, make a stop in Saint Francisc Convent to visit the famous Catacombs, the place where the neighbours of Lima were burried in the basement of the Monastery in the old Roman Style. Another attraction of the museum is the Library which, according the harry Potter’s fans, is pretty similar to Hogwarts Library.
The Catacombs are open from monday to sunday until 5pm and you don’t have to book in advance.
Once in the City Centre, Saint Dominic Monastery is also another ‘must-do in Lima’. The biggest attraction is the Bell Tower of more than 40meters height to have the perfect view for pictures and clips in the Historic Centre of Lima. Also you can learn more about the Peruvian saints like Santa Rosa de Lima and the first black saint of the Americas: San Martín de Porres.
This museum is open from monday to sunday until 5:30pm
The first chinese migrants arrived to Peru around the 1850’s to work as cheap labour force in the farms of cotton and sugar in the coast.
Located in the Historic Centre, El Barrio Chino (China Town) is the place where the chinese migrants opened their first own business. Since the 1930’s many peruvians and tourists visit this place to get deeper into the chinese culture in Peru. Have lunch in one of the chifas (restaurants with chinese – peruvian ingredients), buy some Asian products or have some pictures in their colourful streets. Definitely a place to visit during your stay in Lima.
The boardwalk of Miraflores and Barranco is full of perfect places for having selfies and pictures with friends. Join a bike Tour and enjoy the best view along the coast of Lima. Ride along the Kennedy Park, the Park of Love, Larcomar, the Bridge of Sighs, the amazing murals of Barranco and more.
Lima is known for its caothic traffic but you have nothing to worry about, all the area is full of bike lanes.
Find more details for the Lima Bicycle Tour right here.
Also known as Parque de la Reserva or Parque de las Aguas, is a fantastic public park that host a total of 13 cibernetic fountains; where the lights, water and music combine themselves to perform a unique show.
Parque de la Reserva is open everyday from 3pm until 10pm, but we recommend you to visit after the sunset so you could enjoy better. At the Main Fountain there is a special show at 6:50pm, 7:50pm and 8:50pm.
The ticket is only 4 soles per person and you could buy it at the same place without booking in advance.
In the last few years, Lima has turned into the None official gastronomy Capital of Latin America. From restaurants considered in the Top 50 Best Restaurants in the World until casual places where you can just show up for a nice lunch or dinner, in Lima you could always enjoy a large variety of dishes.
If you couldn’t book a Top restaurant like Central or Maido, number 1 and 3 of LatinAmerica respectively; here we leave you a List of The Best Restaurants in Lima where you don’t have to book in advance in order to enjoy the best Peruvian food.
Lima was founded in 1535 by the Spanish conquerors; but the city was settled by different preinca cultures many centuries ago. “Huaca” is the given name for a Ceremonial and administrative site where nowadays we can learn about the organization of the different prehispanic cultures, even until the Inca times.
Huaca Pucllana is located in Miraflores, about 20min walking from the Kennedy Park. When you visit this place, you could see all the different uses this site had according the century and the culture that was established in the place.
To visit this archaeological site you have to book previosuly, you can do it here.
Huaca Huallamarca was even inhabited until the Incas Period. It’s located in San Isidro, the new financial area of Lima, so you will have the chance to see the contrast between the prehispanic legacy and the modern buildings of Lima.
The biggest attraction is the Central Pyramid and at the museum you could see a lot of pottery, textiles and different articles to understand the daily life of the prehispanic cultures of the place. You could get the ticket at the same place.
Lima is a city in the coast, then you will have the perfect chance to interact with the Pacific ocean and ride your first waves. Surfing has become a very popular sport in the city and the best beaches for you to start with this sport are Yuyos in Barranco and Makaha in Miraflores.
In these beaches you will find different surf schools with skilled instructors and certified equipment; a perfect combo for you to enjoy one hour of adrenaline riding the waves of Lima.
Pueblo Libre is a neighbourhood about 20min from Miraflores or the Historic Centre, here you will find:
Has one of the biggest collections of pottery, textile products and jewelry that shows more than 5000 years of Prehispanic culture, from the first cultures who inhabited in Peru until the Inca Period. Definitely one of the most impressive Museums in South America. The museum is open from 10am to 7pm and you could buy the tickets at the same place or also here.
Another interesting option is the Museum of Archeology, Anthropology and History of Peru; it’s considered the oldest museum in the country and has a lot of material of All the Peruvian History: The preInca cultures, the Incas, The Colonial Times, The Independence Process, The Pacific War against Chile and the XX Century.
Definitely Worth visiting. You could get the tickets at the same museum.
Barranco is the bohemian part of the city. For having some piscos with friends, we recommend you bars like Ayahuasca and República del Pisco; if you are more into craft Beers, then Barranco Beer Company is a good option.
La Noche is a bar with live music every single evening. And if you want to go for party, then Barranco Bar and Sargento Pimienta are the options we recommend you.
In Miraflores you have many alternatives for having a drink. We recommend you Pasaje San Ramón (also known as Calle de las Pizzas) and calle Manuel Bonilla, both streets have really good options for having some food and sharing some piscos with friends.
For enjoying Craft Beers Lúpulo Draft Bar is the chosen bar. And for dancing: Bizarro and La Destilería are available several days a week.
If you would like to experience an activity with some adrenaline, then fly over the coast of Lima is definitely for you.
Close to the coast of Miraflores you will find some trustworthy companies with the certified equipment for flying on a paraglider. The flight lasts about 12min with a perfect view of the modern skyscrapers of Lima and the Pacific Ocean. You won’t regret it, Just do it!
About 6 miles from El Callao, neighbourhood with the harbor and the Airport in Lima, you will find Palomino Islands, a group of 4 islands where sea lions live in their natural habitat.
The visit to Palomino Islands takes about 3 hours and you will have the chance to get into the waters of the Pacific Ocean to enjoy closer with these playful animals while these unique experience is recorded for you with a Go Pro camera. Don’t miss this experience!
During the tour you also have the chance to see the biggest Island of Peru: San Lorenzo; and also El Fronton Island known as the Peruvian Alcatraz because worked out as a prision until the late 80’s.
Morro Solar is an iconic mountain located in the neighbourhood of Chorrillos (next to Miraflores and Barranco) with a height of 250m. In the place you will find the Statue of the White Jesus, similar to the one in Rio de Janeiro; the Monument to the Unknown Soldier in honor to the dead during the War against Chile; and a Lighted Cross that you could see in the evening from any point of the boardwalk in Lima.
From This mountain you could also see the social contrast between a hardworking class area (similar to a favela) around the hill and the modern skyscrapers of Miraflores and Barranco.
How to make it?
Making your way to Morro Solar is not complicated. There is not Public Transport but you can Take an Uber or any other Taxi App until the Tuk Tuk Stop known in Google Maps as ‘Poste de Edu’. At this point you will see many tuk tuk rider offering their service; you can take one of these ones to go up the hill and enjoy all the view from the top.
The price for the tuk tuk ride is about 5 soles per person.
Hopefully our List of The Best Things to do in Lima can help you to enjoy the city at its best and you also can recommend it to your Friends coming to the city but still don’t know what to do in Lima.
Don’t forget to tag us in your pictures as @limabywalkingfreetour so we can share you stories in our social medias and more travellers can discover your experience in Lima.
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