Lima

My trip to Peru in May 2024 had two full-day bookends in Lima, which gave me plenty of time to explore the historic center. I share the opinion that you can find more impressive ensembles elsewhere. "Ensemble" is the key word here. While there are plenty of eye-catching details, they do not add up to a consistent overall picture. Nor is there a killer must-see feature, as has already been stated.

Plaza de Armas and the San Francisco Convent are the main attractions, and the library at Santo Domingo is as impressive as any old library elsewhere. With good timing and extra effort, you can step inside historic palaces, such as Palacio de Torre Tagle or Casa de Aliaga, which are not without interest. The balconies throughout the historic center are the main visual highlights. The Mestizo Baroque church portal at La Merced rivals that of San Francisco. Plus, there is a Modernist façade or two and plenty of splashes of color everywhere, as is common in colonial architecture.

Unlike some previous reviewers, I encountered the main plaza completely off-limits to vehicular traffic. At noon, there was a changing of the guard at the Presidential palace, which started as a slow and tedious ceremony but eventually broke into a 15-minute routine of military choreography, performed to the medley of popular songs anchored by El Cóndor Pasa (which I never knew was written by a Peruvian composer).

I was advised by a tour guide not to go across …

Lima is a great city to explore -- I must state that up front -- but the central historic district which composes the World Heritage Site was not as impressive to me as other historic districts I have visited in Latin America, such as Mexico City or Quito. Walking through the district in October 2018, I made brief stops in Plaza San Martin, centered around a statue of its eponymous hero on horseback, and the Iglesia de La Merced, with its neat baroque facade, before making my way to the more charming Plaza Mayor. This plaza turned out to be the most fascinating of the historical sites I saw in the city center (to include the San Francisco Convent); perhaps it was because the sun finally came out to shine on the yellow-walled mansions with box balconies surrounding the square, or perhaps it was the unexpected military band playing in front of the palace. That said, my best memories of Lima aren't from the historic center, but rather from exploring around the coastal Miraflores and Barranco neighborhoods, walking through the Magic Fountains at night, hiking around the Pachacamac pyramids outside the city, and enjoying an excellent dinner overlooking the ruins of Huaca Pucllana. Lima as a whole is certainly worth a visit.

Logistics: Lima's historic center is very walkable; it is also accessible from many other parts of the city by bus.

I visited this WHS in June 2019 and stayed a total of 5 nights here using it as my base for several short and long day trips to other WHS. To be fair, I wasn't expecting much from Lima and I chose to visit during 'garua' season as it happens to be the best season for the highlights of Peru further South.

That said, I couldn't not compare it to other WHS I had visited 'close' by such as Quito and Panama Viejo which were definitely better overall and more of an ensemble than the Peruvian capital. Lima's biggest problem is traffic, which doesn't even spare the main attraction of this WHS, Plaza de Armas. I enjoyed my numerous visits to the lively square at different times of the day and overall I enjoyed it the most in the evening when several 'cultural shows' took place to celebrate Afro-Peruvian communities. My personal highlight were the ornate wooden balconies of the Archbishop's Palace (photo) and the Torre Tagle Palace.

Moreover, Lima lacks a truly iconic building, monument or landmark and the majority of the places of interest are merely worth visiting but nothing very special, certainly not of outstanding universal value or unique. The Cathedral with Pizarro's tomb, St Martin's square, San Marcos Mansion's interior, the Rimac district, the Barrio Chino, the Santo Domingo Convent and Museum, the Government Palace, etc. are worth seeing but none would be must-sees to justify a revisit (if not a visit in the …

I was really surprised that many people did not like Lima, since I really enjoyed this city and maybe one of the most surprising places I have seen during my one-month trip in South America. Maybe because of this year El Nino, Lima I have seen was very bright with clear sky, so bright that even locals admitted that this kind of sunshine rarely happened. One of the most outstanding features of Lima’s historic center is the vibrant of architectural styles from pure colonial Spanish baroque, lovely art nouveau, and even neo-classical that almost make Lima to be little Madrid.

As a World Heritage Site enthusiast, Basilica de San Francisco was the first place I went to see as this basilica is the original reason why Lima has been put on the list. The grand Basilica is located in the center of the old district. The highlights of the Basilica are the Catacomb and the ceilings of the Basilica complex. The catacomb is very interesting however I am not a fan of dark tourism, so I was happy to just a brief look. But the ceilings of church and monastery are really beautiful from indigenous design to Moorish inspired dome. Really a nice place but I am not sure that from present ICOMOS standard, the site can be inscribed by their own merit, and I was far more appreciate from the rest of the old city. After Basilica, I went to see the City Cathedral, maybe I had …

I was surprised to bump into quite a few tourists in Lima who couldn't be bothered to go to the historic part of the city - they thought it would be boring and/or unsafe and preferred to stay around the beaches and the touristy areas. I think they missed out!

There are some really beautiful buildings here and you can easily spend a day checking them out and having a relaxed meal or drink in one of the squares.

My two highlights - and must sees for everyone - are the Monastery of San Francisco and the main cathedral. They are absolutely stunning inside. Don't miss the tomb for Pizarro in the cathedral.

Lima was my first impression of Peru, and I was pleasantly surprised by it. The city nowadays has a quite prosperous feel to it, and a fancy new bus system that works like a metro (El Metropolitano) makes travelling around safe and easy. Even the fog that famously covers Lima for most of the year was replaced by a bright blue sky when I visited.

The Plaza de Armas is probably the most “central” place in the historic centre. It’s a major crossroads too, so it’s not totally relaxed for pedestrians. The square is covered on all sides by historic buildings. It is here that I first noticed the elaborate wooden balconies which are common in Lima’s old colonial structures. The archbishop’s palace has one of the best of all.

Next door is the Cathedral. It does look pretty standard Latin American Baroque from the outside, but inside there are several gems. The first chapel holds the bones of Pizarro and some beautiful clear mosaics. The Chapel of Our Lady of the Evangelization (renamed so by Pope John Paul II, we should try to make a Connection out of him as he has left his mark all over the globe!) is a masterpiece in turquoise and gold colouring. Other chapels have finely sculptured wooden altars, and the main altar is not to be missed either.

The best sight in the centre still is the Convent of San Francisco. Before the WHS got extended to include the whole …

Updated Review: January 2024

For visitors to Lima, the new 2023 Map will come in useful! The map of the inscribed area is 18.5 ha larger than the 2013 map thanks to recent boundary modifications and includes some non-contiguous areas. When I visited in 2009 there was no sufficient map at all! Els first mentioned this boundary modification (and others) in her Fall 2023 Blog post.

Besides the sites around the The Plaza de Armas, the highlight of my exploration of Lima was the 'Basilica and Convent of Santo Domingo' (Museo Santo Domingo). The courtyard, the tile work, the library all made this historic site the most lasting memory of Lima for me. The Basílica and Convent of San Francisco and the San Agustin Church were also noteworthy stops.

A ICOMOS Mission Report in 2017 demonstrated Peru's progress in protecting archaeological sites in Lima such as the 'Site Museum Bodega y Quadra' which opened in 2012 and the 'Parque de la Muralla' which includes some of the archeological remains of Lima's City Wall. I was completely unaware of both sites in 2009.

Is there more to see than we thought in Lima? Would it improve our 'community perspective' at all? With the new map and specifically the 'Site Museum Bodega y Quadra' to visit, I think Lima deserves a return visit. There has not been any new reviews since 2019. Two other historic sites also sparked my interest. The Quinta Del Marques De …

Whilst there are some interesting things to see in Lima, it is very difficult to believe that the city deserves its WHS status. The Monastary of San Francisco is very interesting, but much else stands out.

There are plenty of old colonial cities on the WHS list, and there are plenty that are not that are much nicer than Lima.

However, for WHS list tickers it is an easy site to 'bag' as it is the gateway for the rest of Peru, and the other sites in this wonderful country are magnificent!

My memories of Lima are rather vague - having just had a nightmare journey from the UK. Yes it is a grubby, run down and in someplaces poverty wracked city.

But what I do remember was a fairly pleasant afternoon viewing the central colonial squares, which whilst nice are put in the shade by Arequippa. The Gold Museum was interesting not so much for the gold, but for the exquisite pre-columbian fabrics upstairs.

But for me the highpoint was the 'Lord of Sipan' at the National Museum, whose treasures were every bit as good as King Tuttankahmun's. Although I am told thes have now been moved to a purpose built museum where they were excavated.

Verdict - look beyond the grubbiness of the city itself and there are some real gems to be seen.

Is there no one out there prepared to write a (positive?) review of the “Historic Centre of Lima”? Lima has a poor reputation among tourists – I have not even been able to find a “good” photo of my own (from visits in 1973 and 84!) and thus present a rather mediocre one of the Plaza de Armas on a typical grey Lima day – looking very dull in the “garua” mist which covers the city for much of the year.

But, if you visit Peru (Which is a wonderful destination - it is perhaps my favourite country for its “variety” of sights - historic, ethnic, scenic (mountains, desert, and jungle) and wildlife) you will have to come to terms with Lima as the port of entry, the transport hub and home for a third of Peru’s population.

Does it justify its WHS status? Well there are colonial remnants if you look for them. Its cathedral in the Plaza de Armas contains the (possible?) remains of Pizarro, there are also a few mansions/houses and a fine monastery but Cuzco and Arequipa maintain more of a colonial atmosphere. I feel it must have been inscribed as much because of its place in colonial history as because of what remains now.

There are some good museums which will complement what you have already or are about to see up-country. I operate a rule of thumb scale of 0-3 days for assessing how long to give a city within a …