Ceviche
Raw white fish “cooked” in lime juice with chilli, red onion, sweet potato and corn. The zesty juice left in the bowl is leche de tigre, and in Lima ceviche is a lunchtime dish, never an evening one.
Where to try it
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Free walking tours in Lima
The City of Kings: colonial balconies, miracle-working saints and an ocean at the foot of the cliffs.
- 3 themed routes
- 17 stops
- Audio guide
Lima was the capital of the richest viceroyalty in the Americas, and its historic centre still holds Baroque churches, mansions with carved wooden balconies and the squares where a country was founded and later declared its independence. A few kilometres away, Miraflores and Barranco look out over the Pacific from the clifftops. Three free routes to explore it on foot, at your own pace.
Choose your free tour
One city, three walks.
All routes are free and can be combined. If it’s your first visit, start with the essentials.
History
From the City of Kings to the Republic: Lima in six scenes
From the centenary square to the banks of the Rímac: Pizarro's founding, a house owned by one family since 1535, the train to the Andes and the marquis's balconies.
Mysteries & legends
Bones, saints and heretics: the Lima told in whispers
An Inquisition tribunal, catacombs full of bones, a conquistador with two bodies, miracle-working saints and a Christ that survived the earthquakes.
Essentials
Lima on the Pacific: Miraflores to Barranco along the clifftops
Parks full of cats, a giant kiss on the cliff edge, a shopping centre hanging over the sea and Barranco's lovers' bridge.
The map
The whole city on foot.
The routes cross in the old town. Tap a point to see which story awaits you there.
History
Mysteries & legends
Essentials
Filled points already have a published article; the rest are in the works.
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A day in the city
What to see in Lima in one day
Link the three routes and you will see the best of the city on foot, for free: the essentials in the morning, history in the afternoon and legends as the sun goes down.
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Morning
Lima on the Pacific: Miraflores to Barranco along the clifftops
- Kennedy ParkMiraflores's open-air living room, with a church, painters, weekend dancing and dozens of cats who think they own the place.
- Love ParkA twelve-metre couple kisses on the edge of the cliff, surrounded by Gaudí-style mosaics.
- Larcomar and the cliffsA shopping centre dug into the cliff, below a park that remembers an airman who averted a tragedy.
- Barranco Municipal ParkThe main square of the old seaside resort of Lima's elite, with its red-towered library and a marble nymph.
- Bridge of SighsA wooden bridge from 1876, burned in wartime, sung by Chabuca Granda and crossed by generations of lovers holding their breath.
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Afternoon
From the City of Kings to the Republic: Lima in six scenes
- Plaza San MartínThe square Lima gave itself for the centenary of independence, with the Liberator in bronze crossing the Andes.
- Basilica of La MercedThe Mercedarian friars arrived before the city itself, and their church has a stone façade that crossed the sea as galleon ballast.
- Plaza Mayor (Main Square)Here Pizarro planted the pillar of justice in 1535, and here independence was proclaimed in 1821.
- Casa de AliagaA plot Pizarro handed to one of his captains, still lived in by the same family almost five centuries later.
- Desamparados StationA 1912 railway station on the banks of the Rímac, where trains left for the Andes and books now live.
- Torre Tagle PalaceAn 18th-century marquis's palace with the most famous wooden balconies in Lima.
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Early evening
Bones, saints and heretics: the Lima told in whispers
- Inquisition TribunalBehind this columned façade, the Holy Office tried heretics, crypto-Jews, pirates and alleged witches for 250 years.
- San Francisco Monastery and CatacombsBeneath one of Lima's loveliest churches lie the neatly sorted bones of thousands of colonial-era limeños.
- Lima Cathedral and Pizarro's TombFor almost a century people prayed before the wrong mummy of Francisco Pizarro, until workers opened a forgotten niche.
- Basilica of Santo DomingoThree Lima saints rest here, among them a mixed-race friar credited with astonishing miracles.
- Sanctuary of Saint Rose of LimaThe first saint of the Americas was born in this house, and in its garden is a well where thousands of limeños drop letters every year.
- Church of Las NazarenasA Christ painted on an adobe wall by an enslaved Angolan survived earthquakes that brought down half of Lima.
Where to eat. Try Ceviche at Canta Rana.
What to eat
Flavours of Lima
The dishes you can’t leave without trying, and the classic spots that have been serving them for years.
Butifarra
A crusty roll filled with jamón del país, a spiced cooked ham, and salsa criolla of onion and lime. At Bar Cordano, open since 1905 beside the Government Palace, it is practically an institution.
Where to try it
Pan con chicharrón
Lima's great breakfast: pork belly fried in its own fat, fried sweet potato and salsa criolla in a crisp roll. El Chinito has been serving it in the centre since 1960.
Where to try it
Pisco sour
Pisco, lime, syrup, whipped egg white and a few drops of Angostura bitters. The bar at the Gran Hotel Bolívar, open since 1924, serves it facing Plaza San Martín.
Where to try it
Anticuchos
Skewers of beef heart marinated in ají panca and vinegar, grilled over coals and served with potato and corn. A dish with Afro-Peruvian roots; Tía Grimanesa started out selling them from a cart in Miraflores.
Where to try it
Turrón de Doña Pepa
Bars of anise-scented pastry soaked in chancaca syrup and topped with colourful sprinkles. It is the sweet of Lima's purple month, and Pastelería San Martín has been making it since 1930.
Where to try it