Peru: Lima the Gastronomical Capital of South America
After 7 unforgettable & heartwarming days around the Andes mountains, getting immersed in the Incan civilization- where we got to explore Cusco & its surrounding areas, and then took an EPIC 4 day journey hiking the Inca trail all the way to Machu Picchu (check out that post)- it was time to head back to explore Lima for 2 days before having to fly back home.
It was necessary for us to spend a few days in Lima to explore a different side to the Peruvian culture where we get to see more of the Spanish colonial influence on Peru and also experience more of its modern side and last but not least to taste some of the best food in South America!
We planned to visit 3 different parts of Lima: Historical center- the birth of lima
Miraflores- the more upscale modern side & the boardwalk
Barranco- the more hip/artsy Bohemian part of the city
DAY 1: Historical District/Miraflores/Barranco
A quick flight back from Cusco- we arrived back into Lima- We took a taxi to our boutique hotel to check in and headed back out to meet with the rest of the group to get the most of our day and start off by exploring the historical center of Lima.
We took a cab straight to Plaza Mayor (Plaza de Armas) which is considered the heart & the birthplace of Lima. It is said that in Plaza Mayor’s location is where Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro founded Lima in 1535. Also the Peruvian independence was first officially proclaimed here in 1821. Unfortunately the existing buildings aren’t the original 16th & 17th century buildings, since those were completely destroyed by a disastrous earthquake back in 1746. What exists now are reconstructions of the originals, but they still have the same architectural charm and details as the originals. Most of the buildings built around the plaza are governmental institutions- like the Presidential Palace, the beautiful Cathedral of Lima, Archbishop's Palace & the Municipal Palace (with their ornately carved, and beautifully preserved, wooden balconies), and the Palace of the Union. Many alleyways with colorful buildings lead out of the plaza where you can wander off and discover a variety of shops, restaurants, live music and street performers. It gets quite lively especially at night. In the center of the Plaza is a fountain which supposedly back in the day used to be the location of the gallows where people used to be sentenced to death- eery!
We found a small Peruvian restaurant for a quick lunch in one of the alleyways near the plaza. Most of us ordered our favorite Lomo Saltado and of course our favored local drink, the Pisco Sour. After that we had a chance to walk around more and explore another beautiful plaza- Plaza San Martin, which is also surrounded by beautiful colonial architecture. A huge statue of General Jose San Martin- "El Libertador", the Liberator of Peru from the Spaniards in 1821- sitting on a horse stands tall in the middle of the plaza- definitely a historic landmark. Lots of green area around to hang out and enjoy the surrounding. The famous hotel Bolivar is also in that square but we didn’t get a chance to take a peek inside.
About a block away from Plaza Mayor, we came across a Spanish Baroque style building which turned out to be the Basilica & Convent of San Francisco. We had a chance to take a quick glimpse inside at the gilded altars and the display of the large religious paintings on the walls. It also contains a library and catacombs which you can visit too, but we didn’t have the chance to. We stumbled on a local gallery nearby that was exhibiting aboriginal artwork which was quite impressive. Unfortunately I don’t remember the name of it but we really enjoyed it.
After soaking ourselves in the Historical center, we headed back to the hotel to change and head back out to explore the upscale Miraflores area before going to have our last memorable dinner in Lima. We headed towards the public spaces & beautiful parks where many locals hung out. We enjoyed a stroll through Parque Kennedy which is a huge urban park busy with locals as well as tourists where the also had street vendors selling local crafts and artisans- Great place for last minute local souvenirs but make sure to bargain alot!
You can’t go to Lima without exploring the amazing food scene. Lima is considered the gastronomic capital of Latin America. They have some of the best restaurants in the world! We had booked Maido - Japanese/Peruvian fusion (listed on the worlds top restaurants) in the Miraflores area. It was once voted the best restaurant in Latin America. Beautiful interior and the food was so creative and amazingly flavorful, and so were their drinks.
Being our last night in Lima, we really wanted to check out the nightlife in the hip Bohemian area of Barranco. It’s known to have some of Lima’s coolest bars. We grabbed a taxi after dinner and headed there. This area definitely has an artsy flair to it with street art & colorful mansions. Many of the colorful colonial homes that once housed Lima’s elite, have been restored and transformed into boutique hotels, restaurants, stylish bars, galleries and shops. Unfortunately we didn’t have the time to explore it during the day and get the chance to visit the different art galleries around there.
Top of our list was the lounge/cocktail bar Ayahuasca situated in a restored colonial mansion. Two curved staircases with detailed wooden rails lead up to the ornate wooden entrance of the multi-roomed boutique bar. Each room is uniquely designed, as if a different designer designed each one, blending classic furniture with a pop of modern color with some eclectic design. This place was quite busy, so we headed towards one of the internal bars that had an elaborate Pisco cocktails menu. Definitely worth checking out and mingling with the locals!
After Ayahuasca we were too exhausted to explore other night spots, even though we were really tempted to since it was quite busy around that area. I will mention a few other places worth checking out if you have a few more days in Lima.
Recommendatios for Barranco::
Stay at Hotel B- an upscale early 20th century French belle époque mansion converted into a boutique hotel
Stay at Villa Barranco- a lovely Boutique hotel situated in a converted mansion
Stay at Casa Republica- boutique hotel with an art Deco feel to it
Bridge of Sighs (Puente do Los Suspiros) & the graffiti art on the walls
Dedalo Arte- exhibition space, boutique home goods and clothing atelier & outdoor café all in one
Ayahuasca- hip lounge/cocktail bar & fun crowd
Barra 55- another super hip cocktail bars
DaDa- beautifully converted mansion into a bar with specialty gin cocktails and a trendy crowd
Biscetti (coffee shop)
Mario Testino MATE museum (photography) and many scattered small art galleries
Day 2: Miraflores Boardwalk
The next day we decide to go out and take a stroll on the famous Miraflores boardwalk and get a closer view of the beautiful high cliffs and the Pacific Ocean. It really was a beautiful stroll where we walked for a few miles enjoying the view of the cliffs, the ocean, the paragliders, the modern high-rise apartment buildings, the multiple parks attached to the boardwalk, and all the active locals walking, running, biking or doing yoga in the adjacent parks. The nicest part of the boardwalk is the Parque del Amor (Love Park), where there’s beautiful flowerbeds & colorful mosaic curved walls and benches which seems to be inspired by Antonio Gaudi’s Parc Güell in Barcelona. There you have the park’s famous sculpture, El Beso (The Kiss) which was created by the Peruvian artist Victor Delfín.
Restaurant recommendations in LIMA::
Central - top Peruvian restaurant -reinvents Andean cuisine (Barranco)
Astrid y Gastón - top restaurant
Maido - Japanese/Peruvian fusion cuisine
Malabar - Amazonian style cuisine
Ámaz - Amazonian cuisine
Isolina - traditional Creole cuisine (Barranco)
Huaca Pucllana restaurant - near the ruins of Huaca Pucllana
museo del pisco - bar with original cocktails
Other Reccommendations if your have more days to explore the history & arts museums::
Ruins of Huaca Pucllana- giant pyramid built around 300 & 700 AD and constructed from millions of adobe bricks
El Museo Nacional - Pre-Colombian & every Peruvian culture
Museo de Arte de Lima (MALI)
Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Lima (MAC Lima) - Barranco
