Going to Peru? Here’s our guide to the best things to do in Lima Peru, so you don’t miss any of the highlights! Read below for all our Peru travel tips.
How many days to spend in Lima Peru?
Two days is enough to see the main highlights in Lima Peru. But if you have a third day, I have a fun day trip recommendation for you at the end of this post. You’ll visit an actual, real-life oasis in the middle of the desert, take a high-speed dune-buggy ride, sand board down the dunes, and even get to see penguins and sea lions.
Park of Love
The Park of Love (Parque del Amor) is a small park dedicated to lovers that offers a panoramic view over the Pacific Ocean and the cliffs of Lima Peru.
The curved, mosaic benches overlooking the ocean were seriously giving me some Barcelona vibes!
Larcomar
Larcomar is an outdoor, high-end shopping mall built into the sea cliffs in Lima Peru. There are many outdoor restaurants with views overlooking the ocean, and even a movie theatre and a bowling alley. It’s worth visiting even if just for the view! It’s where I took the first picture in the post. From here it’s about a 15 minute walk to the Park of Love, overlooking the ocean the entire way.
Black Sand Beach
Near the Park of Love, there’s a path down to the beach. The sand is black! I had to see it for myself.
Miraflores Lighthouse
From the Park of Love, you can continue walking through the Antonio Raimondi Park to the Miraflores Lighthouse. It’s a very nice walk. Along the way there’s a striking overlook of the cliffs and the lighthouse.
You can continue walking along the cliff’s edge to reach the lighthouse.
From here, I took a cab to to the historic district of Lima Peru. With traffic, it took about 30 minutes and the price was 20 soles. Always be sure to ask the price before getting in a taxi and always negotiate! My taxi back to this area was also 20 soles, but I had to negotiate a lot harder for the price on the way back. Don’t be afraid to walk away from the first taxi if they don’t want to accept your price — you’ll find another taxi in less than 2 seconds. I seriously think every car I saw in Lima was a cab!
Historic District of Lima Peru
The historic district of Lima Peru is a UNESCO World Heritage site. I had my cab drop me at Plaza San Martín, a park with a large monument of José de San Martín in the middle. From here you can walk down the Jirón de la Unión (Union Street) to the main square of Lima Peru.
Jirón de la Unión (Union Street)
Union Street is a pedestrian walking street in the Historic Center. It was once one of the most important, aristocratic boulevards of the city and the meeting-point for the most affluent citizens. Now it’s filled with souvenir shops and fast food restaurants, but the old architecture is still there. This building reminded me of the Antoni Gaudí style we saw all over Barcelona.
Plaza Mayor de Lima Peru (Main Square)
Plaza Mayor is the heart of the historical district, and is known as the birthplace of Lima Peru. There’s a large fountain in the center and the plaza is surrounded by palaces on all sides — the Archbishop’s Palace, the Government Palace, the Municipal Palace and the Cathedral of Lima.
Basílica de San Francisco
Just two blocks away from the main square is this Baroque-style Roman Catholic church & monastery.
Park La Muralla
Right behind the church is a park with an overlook of the colorful houses of San Cristobal in Lima Peru.
Paracas & Huacachina Day Trip from Lima Peru
How amazing is this real-life oasis in the middle of the desert in Peru??
I’m the kind of person who likes to get up early and spend all day outside exploring a new city. After two days in Lima Peru, I had seen most of the hotspots. So on my last day, I booked a day trip from Lima to Paracas and Huacachina.
How to Get There
Originally I wanted to go with Peru Hop, but their tour didn’t get back until 11:45 PM. Normally this would be fine, but I had a 1 AM flight back to the United States. I wouldn’t be able to get to the airport in time. In hindsight, I should’ve gone the previous day, but I didn’t realize I would be “done” with Lima Peru after only 2 days. This day trip was a total last minute decision, but I’m so, so, SO glad I went!!
I ended up booking with Quality Vacations. I just stopped by their office the morning before I wanted to go. They were in the same building as the Peru Hop tour office and offered the exact same tour, but their tour got back at 10:30 PM. That would give me just enough time to make my flight if I brought my luggage with me and went straight to the airport after the tour. Plus their tour was only $80 USD — the exact same Peru Hop tour was $120 USD.
Even though I booked with Quality Vacations, the actual tour company that I went with was called Travel Picaflor Peru. They also have an office in Miraflores, and you may could book directly with them. But I didn’t have any problems with Quality Vacations, and I would recommend them. But I don’t know if it would be cheaper if you booked directly with Travel Picaflor Peru?
After reaching the oasis, we took a high-speed adventure dune buggy ride through the steep dunes of the desert. SO much fun!!
Everything you did was close to Lima airport. Not sure why did you fly to curso based on this iternary. Also you did do Amazon and Macha pichu.
Hi We are booking flights and want to clarify, should we be flying into Lima and then going to Cusco? or did you guys fly into Lima and stay?
We flew into Lima, spent the night at the airport hotel, then took a super early flight to Cusco the next morning! We would’ve gone straight to Cusco had that been an option. Have a great trip!
Im heading to Peru in November, and we want to do the same day trip you did on our last day. Did they allow you to bring your luggage on the bus? And where did that drop you off at the end of the tour? just curious so we don’t miss our flight back home. Thank you!
Yes they did allow me to bring my luggage onto the bus. The bus wasn’t full for my tour, and my luggage had to go in the seat next to me, so if it’s a full tour it might be more complicated. You probably want to double check with them the day before the tour to make sure they’ll have room. The bus dropped us off the same place they picked us up, at the Larcomar Mall. Hope this helps, have a great trip!
Hello! Did you visit Huaca Pucllana or Indian Market in Miraflores? Is it worth it to visit? We have 1 full day in Lima and then on the return from Cusco we have 1/2 day in Lima before flying out the next morning.
HI Natasha! We went to the Indian Market in Miraflores and I wasn’t super impressed. The best market in Peru was in Pisac! I wanted to go to Huaca Pucllana but didn’t have time. Have a great trip!
I would like to see the prices you paid for the hotels you stayed at.
We stayed at an Airbnb in Lima, but you can look up hotel prices on Google or TripAdvisor! Have a great trip!
Hello, did you go everywhere yourself or jioned the tour?
Hi Jana! I did everything in Lima on my own, but for the day trip to Paracas & Huacachina I went with a tour. Hope this helps! :)