Lima
Clifftop districts above the Pacific, colonial balconies around the Plaza de Armas, an adobe pyramid among the apartment blocks, and the kitchens that made Peru famous.
- Arrival
- Jorge Chávez International · LIM
- To the city
- About 45 minutes to Miraflores by car
- Private jets
- At LIM; an FBO terminal is planned
- Best time
- December to April
The city
Cliffs, balconies and kitchens.
Lima sits on the edge of the desert, its newer districts lined up along cliffs above the Costa Verde, where paragliders ride the sea wind. Inland, the old centre keeps its carved wooden balconies around the Plaza de Armas, and the Cathedral holds the remains of Francisco Pizarro. Barranco, to the south, is the city of painters and poets, with murals, galleries and a footbridge for lovers.
Most people come for the food. Lima calls itself the culinary capital of South America, and a long weekend can be built around its tables and markets. Summer, from late December to March, brings sun and little fog; from June the sky turns grey and damp, and the coast stays mild but sunless for weeks.
Arriving
A new terminal by the sea.
Lima's airport moved into a new passenger terminal on 1 June 2025, beside a second runway opened in 2023. Miraflores is 17 km away, about 45 minutes by car.
- Bogotá 2 h 45
- Panama City 3 h 25
- Barbados 4 h 45
- Palm Beach 5 h 55
- Marrakech 11 h 40 long-range jet
When to go
December to April.
Lima lies in a coastal desert and almost never sees rain; what changes through the year is the sky. December to April is sunny and warm, with highs of 24 to 27 °C; from June to October a low grey cover keeps highs near 19 °C and sunshine to an hour or three a day.
- 26° J 1
- 27° F 1
- 26° M 0
- 25° A 0
- 22° M 1
- 20° J 2
- 19° J 3
- 18° A 3
- 19° S 2
- 20° O 1
- 22° N 1
- 24° D 2
What to see and do
Days in and around Lima.
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Landmark
Huaca Pucllana
An adobe pyramid 25 metres high among the streets of Miraflores, with a restaurant looking over the ruins.
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Landmark
Plaza de Armas
The oldest square in the city, framed by the Cathedral, the Government Palace and the Municipal Palace.
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Landmark
Barranco
Puente de los Suspiros, the Bajada de los Baños down to the sea, and the pier at sunset.
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Culture
Museo Larco
An 18th-century mansion in Pueblo Libre holds this pre-Columbian collection, founded in 1926, with its gold and silver rooms and open storerooms.
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Culture
MALI Museo de Arte de Lima
Some 1,200 works in the Palacio de la Exposición trace 3,000 years of Peruvian art, from ancient textiles to the present.
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Opera & music
Gran Teatro Nacional
Home of the national symphony orchestra and ballet since 2012, the 1,500-seat theatre in San Borja also stages opera.
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Culture
Santuario Arqueológico de Pachacamac
For more than a thousand years pilgrims came to this oracle in the Lurín valley, where the Templo del Sol and a site museum stand.
Official site -
Wildlife
Pantanos de Villa
These 263 hectares of protected marsh in Chorrillos are a resting place for migratory birds, Chilean flamingos and peregrine falcons among them.
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On the water
Islas Palomino
Speedboats from La Punta in Callao pass San Lorenzo Island to reach a colony of over 8,000 sea lions, where swimmers join them in wetsuits.
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Food & wine
Mercado de Surquillo
Stalls of fish, Andean produce, lúcuma and camu camu stand on the edge of Miraflores, and some will make ceviche to order.
Where to stay
Above the cliffs, and behind old walls.
Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.
- Miraflores Park, A Belmond Hotel A glass front facing the ocean, a rooftop pool, and breakfast in the Observatorio on the eleventh floor.
- Hotel B Twenty rooms in a 1914 mansion by Claude Sahut, once a presidential summer residence, and art throughout the common rooms.
- Atemporal A 1940s Tudor-style house open only to its guests, with a house car and driver and Astrid y Gastón a short walk away.
- Fausto by Andean Five rooms in a 1920s townhouse, an open kitchen, a tiled patio and a terrace on the roof.
Where to dine
The best tables in Lima.
No MICHELIN Guide covers Peru. These restaurants are ranked by The World’s 50 Best and Latin America’s 50 Best; two have been named the best in the world.
- Central The World’s Best Restaurant 2023 Peruvian Barranco
- Maido The World’s Best Restaurant 2025 Nikkei Miraflores
- Kjolle Latin America’s 50 Best 2025, No. 2 Peruvian Barranco
- Mérito Latin America’s 50 Best 2025, No. 4 Peruvian Barranco
- Mayta Latin America’s 50 Best 2025, No. 11 Peruvian Miraflores
Elsewhere in Peru
More reasons to come.
- Cusco The Inca capital, its walls under colonial churches, at 3,400 metres.
- Sacred Valley Lower and milder than Cusco, the place to sleep before Machu Picchu.
- Machu Picchu The citadel on its ridge, reached by train along the Urubamba.
- Arequipa The white city, built of volcanic stone, near the Colca canyon.
- Paracas Where the desert meets the ocean, with sea lions on the Ballestas islands.
Flying to Lima?
Choose how you arrive.
A Business or First Class seat on a scheduled airline, or an aircraft of your own. Tell us the date and how many are travelling, and we reply with one final price, our margin included.