|  Lima,
located on the central western coast, is large, noisy, polluted
and shrouded in a misty coastal fog for much of the year. There
is a sunny period, December through April, when many coast and
highland people go to the beach. Despite the unimpressive landscape;
the friendly people, important historical sites, quality museums,
and variety of dining and entertainment establishments make Lima
a very interesting place to visit.
Please note
that additional info (prices, activities, etc) are found to the
right of this pages. 
 Festivities
can be explored year-round in Lima. The Lord of the Miracles
(Senor de los Milagros), the patron saint of Lima, is celebrated
in October with a series of street parades that include a life-size
replica of Jesus carried on an elaborate adorned altar. The faithful
followers are adorned in purple robes and the entire reverent,
yet festive, occasion is accompanied by music, singing, the ringing
of ceremonial bells and the burning of incense. October is also
the month when the bullfighting season begins. The best bullfighters
of the world come to compete for the Escapulario de Oro (the gold
epaulet) in the Plaza de Acho ring. Other celebrations throughout
the year include a wine harvest festival in March, and the Feria
del Pacifico international fair in November.
View
A Video Of The Miraflores Area Of Lima
 The
Plaza de Armas is a great starting point for
exploring Lima. Stand in the middle of this spacious and handsome
square, by the 17th-centruy bronze fountain, and you are at the
historic heart of the city. On the north side is the Government
Palace, which was completed in 1938, and suffers from the past
of Peru's dictators of the time for grandiose French baroque.
On weekdays at 12:45 pm, you can see the changing of the guard.
The eastern side of the square is dominated by the cathedral,
which was reconstructed many times due to earthquakes. Inside,
the cathedral is large and unusually austere. Opposite the cathedral
is the Municiplidad de Lima, or town hall. The
pleasant interior includes a fine library. Next to it on the square
is the headquarters of the Club de la Union, a lunchtime mixture
of politicians and professionals.
Lima has many choices of museums to visit. The
Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology in the Plaza Bolivar
is one of the most interesting museums in South America, with
a superb collection of pottery and textiles from all the main
cultures of ancient Peru. The Museum of the Republic,
contains exhibits from the colonial and independence periods.
The National Museum, opened in 1990, in a neo-brutalist mausoleum
on Av Javier Prado Oeste in San Borja. The museum contains impressive
mock-ups of pre-Columbian archaeological sites, and an ingenious
replica of the Chavin stela, a massive carved stone idol. The
Gold Museum contains a private collection with some fine items
and artifacts. The Museum of the Inquisition, next to the Congress
in the city center, is in the building where generations of supposed
heretics were tortured and tied. The stocks in the underground
dungeons and torture chambers are originals.
The business district of San Isidro
and Miraflores are the main areas for shopping,
restaurants, cafes and theatres. At the top end of Av. Larco is
the Parque Kennedy, where artists sell paintings
during the weekend. Next to the Pacifico Cinima is the Café
Haiti, a prime spot for people-watching. Around the corner
in Ricardo Palma, is the more upmarket Vivaldi Café.
Walking down Diagonal you will find firstly great imported export-quality
Peruvian coffee in the highly trendy Café Café
and a little further on is a side street crammed with pizzerias
with open-air tables. A cobbled road leads down a gully to the
Costa Verde, as the sweep of beaches is called. |
