Sunset over Lima's Costa Verde from the Miraflores clifftop promenade
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Lima in 3 days

  • 3 days
  • 8.5 km on foot
  • 17 stops
  • Audio guide

Three days let you get to know Lima at its own pace instead of just ticking off a list. There is time for the ocean and the fashionable districts, the viceregal centre, museums and ruins, and for sitting down in markets and Lima dining rooms. It is the plan for anyone who wants to eat well, walk without hurry and see why this is a food capital.

Day 1Cliffs and adobe

A first day by the sea. In the morning, “Lima on the Pacific”: Kennedy Park, Love Park, Larcomar and, after the clifftop path, Barranco and its Bridge of Sighs. Have a ceviche for lunch in Barranco, since in Lima it is a midday dish. The afternoon is free to take slowly: Huaca Pucllana in Miraflores and, by taxi, the Larco Museum in Pueblo Libre. If you have energy left, go back to the clifftop at sunset: the light over the Pacific stays with you.

  1. Morning

    Lima on the Pacific: Miraflores to Barranco along the clifftops

    Mixed · 4.5 km · 2 h 30 min

    1. Kennedy ParkMiraflores's open-air living room, with a church, painters, weekend dancing and dozens of cats who think they own the place.
    2. Love ParkA twelve-metre couple kisses on the edge of the cliff, surrounded by Gaudí-style mosaics.
    3. Larcomar and the cliffsA shopping centre dug into the cliff, below a park that remembers an airman who averted a tragedy.
    4. Barranco Municipal ParkThe main square of the old seaside resort of Lima's elite, with its red-towered library and a marble nymph.
    5. Bridge of SighsA wooden bridge from 1876, burned in wartime, sung by Chabuca Granda and crossed by generations of lovers holding their breath.

    Start the audio guide See the route

  2. Lunch

    Try Ceviche at Canta Rana. Pasaje Génova 101, Barranco

  3. Afternoon

    Huaca Pucllana

    An adobe pyramid of the Lima culture, older than the Incas, rising between the apartment blocks of Miraflores. You visit it on a guided walk around its platforms and courtyards, and it is lit up at night. A short taxi ride from the clifftop, ideal after lunch.

    Directions

    Larco Museum

    A museum in a viceregal mansion built over a pre-Hispanic structure in Pueblo Libre. It traces thousands of years of pre-Columbian ceramics and has a lovely bougainvillea garden. Take a taxi and set aside at least an hour and a half.

    Directions

Day 2Mansions, art and water

Spend the day in the historic centre on “From the City of Kings to the Republic”: Plaza San Martín, La Merced, Plaza Mayor, Casa de Aliaga, Desamparados and Torre Tagle. At midday, a butifarra at Bar Cordano, open since 1905. In the afternoon the Lima Art Museum offers shade and context, and after dark Reserve Park switches on its fountains. It is a day of short steps, with pauses, and a taxi home.

  1. Morning

    From the City of Kings to the Republic: Lima in six scenes

    History · 1.9 km · 1 h 50 min

    1. Plaza San MartínThe square Lima gave itself for the centenary of independence, with the Liberator in bronze crossing the Andes.
    2. 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.
    3. Plaza Mayor (Main Square)Here Pizarro planted the pillar of justice in 1535, and here independence was proclaimed in 1821.
    4. Casa de AliagaA plot Pizarro handed to one of his captains, still lived in by the same family almost five centuries later.
    5. Desamparados StationA 1912 railway station on the banks of the Rímac, where trains left for the Andes and books now live.
    6. Torre Tagle PalaceAn 18th-century marquis's palace with the most famous wooden balconies in Lima.

    Start the audio guide See the route

  2. Lunch

    Try Butifarra at Bar Cordano. Jirón Áncash 202, Cercado de Lima

  3. Afternoon

    Lima Art Museum (MALI)

    Peru's great art museum, in the Palacio de la Exposición inside Exposición Park. It gathers centuries of Peruvian art, from pre-Hispanic cultures to contemporary work. A few minutes from the historic centre; check which day it closes.

    Directions

    Reserve Park and Magic Water Circuit

    A park home to the Magic Water Circuit, a set of illuminated fountains with music and projections. It is best after dark, when the colours come on. It is close to the Lima Art Museum, so the two combine well.

    Directions

Day 3Markets, olives and pisco

Start at Surquillo Market, where you see Lima's pantry, and carry on to El Olivar Grove in San Isidro. For lunch, head to the centre for a pan con chicharrón: it is hearty enough to count as a meal. At dusk, “Bones, saints and heretics”, with the San Francisco catacombs, Pizarro's tomb and Las Nazarenas. Finish with a pisco sour at the Gran Hotel Bolívar, beside Plaza San Martín.

  1. Morning

    Surquillo Market

    A working local market that shows what Lima's cooking is made of: fresh fish, ají chillies, tubers and Amazonian fruit. Wander the stalls and try a freshly pressed juice. Go early, because it is much livelier in the morning.

    Directions

    El Olivar Grove

    A grove of centuries-old olive trees in San Isidro, with shady paths, a pond and sculptures. It is a quiet green pause in the middle of the business district, a few minutes by taxi from Surquillo Market.

    Directions

  2. Lunch

    Try Pan con chicharrón at El Chinito. Jirón Chancay 894, Cercado de Lima

  3. Early evening

    Bones, saints and heretics: the Lima told in whispers

    Mysteries & legends · 2.1 km · 1 h 55 min

    1. Inquisition TribunalBehind this columned façade, the Holy Office tried heretics, crypto-Jews, pirates and alleged witches for 250 years.
    2. San Francisco Monastery and CatacombsBeneath one of Lima's loveliest churches lie the neatly sorted bones of thousands of colonial-era limeños.
    3. Lima Cathedral and Pizarro's TombFor almost a century people prayed before the wrong mummy of Francisco Pizarro, until workers opened a forgotten niche.
    4. Basilica of Santo DomingoThree Lima saints rest here, among them a mixed-race friar credited with astonishing miracles.
    5. 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.
    6. Church of Las NazarenasA Christ painted on an adobe wall by an enslaved Angolan survived earthquakes that brought down half of Lima.

    Start the audio guide See the route

  4. Dinner

    Try Pisco sour at Gran Hotel Bolívar. Jirón de la Unión 958, Plaza San Martín

The map

Lima in 3 days, on the map

Each route’s stops are numbered in order; the stars are the extra sights.

Mixed History Mysteries & legends Extra sight

Loading the map…

Before you go

Tips for Lima in 3 days

  • Balance effort and rest: day one has the most walking and day two the most pauses. If there is garúa, swap strolls for museums and use ride-hailing taxis.
  • Many museums and archaeological sites close one day a week, often Monday. Before you fix the order, check what opens on which day and book if you can.
  • Lima's traffic is heavy at rush hour. Plan long transfers outside those times and always carry a light layer: it gets cool by the sea, even in summer.

Questions

Lima in 3 days: your questions

How many days do you need in Lima?

Three days is ideal for a first visit: the historic centre, the Miraflores and Barranco coast, two museums, an archaeological site, a market and unhurried meals. With two days the essentials fit but tightly; with one, only the basics.

How far do you walk in three days?

The three routes add up to about 8.5 km: 4.5 km on day one, 1.9 km on day two and 2.1 km on day three. It is a gentle plan; add the museums, the market and the grove, plus the taxi transfers.

Is it worth eating in the centre and in Barranco?

Yes, it is part of the plan: ceviche at midday in Barranco, butifarra and pan con chicharrón in the centre, and a pisco sour at the Bolívar. Each dish has its classic address and its hour: ceviche, for instance, is never eaten in the evening.

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