Lima Districts

While visitors to Lima are encouraged to explore the various attractions in the city center, the wealthier districts of Miraflores, Barranco, and San Isidro are the safer and more peaceful areas and most suitable for overnight stays, as they located far from the hectic center that gives Lima its reputation as a noisy, chaotic, and overpopulated capital city.

Miraflores

Miraflores is one of the most visited districts in Lima. From the central location of Parque Kennedy extend a wide range of restaurants, shops, hostels and hotels, bars and clubs. Parque Kennedy regularly hosts craft markets, live music and art exhibitions at night and on the weekends where locals and tourists alike gather to enjoy the evening social scene. Only a few blocks from the park is the ocean view shopping mall of Larcomar, built into the cliffs above the Pacific Ocean; this mall boasts a variety of entertainment for everyone: video arcade, movie theater, bowling alley, up-scale shopping, and restaurants, bars and clubs. Undulating like a snake along the coast of the Miraflores district is the Costa Verde, or Green Coast, where surfing and paragliding is popular year-round. Another popular park is the Parque del Amor, where young couples gather in the shadow of a suggestive statue to watch the sunset from various perches and mosaic-tiled benches.

Barranco

Already an established beach resort by the end of the 17th century, Barranco is a district known for its arts, fine choice of restaurants, bohemian feel and lively nightlife. This suburb also has an excellent public library (formerly the town hall) located on the central Plaza. The Bajada de los Baños is a beautiful shop- and café-lined walkway that leads to the district’s ocean beaches below. It is crossed by the romantic Puente de los Suspiros (Bridge of Sighs) leading to the central park of Barranco, which has a large picturesque cathedral, and is surrounded by cafés, art galleries and exhibits, hotels and hostels, restaurants, bars and nightclubs. You can also find peñas here, which feature typical Peruvian dances and live creole/Peruvian music.

San Isidro

San Isidro, which shares a border with Miraflores, is the financial center of Lima, with over 20 banks and a large commercial center. It is also home to 28 foreign embassies. Like the more residential Miraflores, this district boasts some of the city’s largest and grandest homes. This is a beautiful area to wander the streets, relax at a café, and experience how the Lima elite live!

Cercado de Lima

Cercado de Lima, also known as Lima Centro, or Downtown Lima, is home to the Plaza de Armas, the main square of Lima which contains the Government Palace, and the grand Catedral, which holds the remains of Francisco Pizzaro. Overlooking the Plaza is Cerro San Cristobal with its giant cross. From the plaza, a one hour tour will take you to the top of the hill for amazing views of the city. Only a short walk away from the main plaza is also Iglesia San Francisco, a former Franciscan monastery which is now a popular tourist destination famous for its catacombs that served as a resting place over the centuries to more than 25,000 bodies. Tourist souvenir markets can also be found in this area. Near the Plaza on the shore of the river Rimac is the Alameda Chabuca Grande, where you can find a large craft market, typical Peruvian food and drinks, mainly from the jungle regions, and live music and dance shows. Another nearby plaza is Plaza San Martin, connected to the Plaza de Armas by the pedestrian shopping street, Jirón de la Union.