Lima's museums reach back further than most itineraries suggest, and the dates tell you exactly how far. One institution on this list dates from 1822, another from 2012, and between those years sit archaeology, Italian art, natural history, gold and weapons, a central bank's collection, and a decommissioned submarine. The archaeological museum on Av. Simón Bolívar 1515 and the national museum on Calle Plaza Bolívar in Pueblo Libre are where most visitors start, and they are right to. This list goes further on purpose. You will cross to Callao for a 1953 Abtao-class submarine and head down to Barranco for an art museum at 421 Avenida Pedro de Osma. It also takes in four institutions designated Cultural heritage of Peru. It is built for travellers who want one good museum a day, not five rushed ones. Opening hours vary considerably from one address to the next, and several close on Mondays or finish early at weekends, so each entry states the hours wherever we could verify them. Where we could not, it says so.
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1 Larco Museum
Av. Simón Bolívar 1515An archaeological museum dating from 1926 that is open every day of the week
The Larco Museum at Av. Simón Bolívar 1515 opens at 09:00 every day and stays open until 19:00, and that long window is the practical reason to put it first. Arrive after a slow lunch and you still have hours ahead of you, a latitude that few serious museums anywhere allow. It is an archaeological museum in Lima, founded in 1926. We'd skip the rushed morning circuit that tries to tick off three collections before noon; this one rewards an unhurried afternoon and a second pass through the rooms that held you longest. Check museolarco.org before you go, then build the rest of the day around this visit rather than squeezing it in.
Dates from 1926
Hours: Mo-Su 09:00-19:00
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2 National Museum of Archaeology, Anthropology, and History of Peru
Calle Plaza Bolívar, Pueblo LibrePeru's national museum of archaeology, anthropology and history, dating from 1822
Dating from 1822, the National Museum of Archaeology, Anthropology, and History of Peru carries more than two centuries of institutional weight, and it sits on Calle Plaza Bolívar in Pueblo Libre. Its hours are what to plan around: Tuesday to Saturday from 08:45 to 16:00, and Sunday from 08:45 to 15:30, with no Monday hours listed. Turn up at 14:30 and the clock is already against you in a museum whose three subjects in one name ask for real time. Come early, take it in order with archaeology first, and let the history rooms be where you slow down, not where you sprint for the exit.
Dates from 1822
Hours: Tu-Sa 08:45-16:00; Su 08:45-15:30
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3 Museum of Italian Art
Avenida Paseo de la República, 250A public museum of Italian art dating from 1923 and designated Cultural heritage of Peru
At Avenida Paseo de la República, 250, the Museum of Italian Art is open Tuesday to Saturday from 09:00 to 16:30. A public museum dating from 1923 and carrying the designation Cultural heritage of Peru, it makes the case that a Lima museum day doesn't have to be all pre-Columbian. An hour of Italian art in a heritage-listed building is the kind of contrast that sharpens everything else you see this week. The museum is closed Sundays and Mondays, so slot it into a weekday, and if you want to confirm anything before you go, the phone number is +51-1-3215622 and the official page sits on the culture ministry's museum portal.
Dates from 1923 · Cultural heritage of Peru
Hours: Tu-Sa 09:00-16:30
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4 Lima Art Museum
Avenida 9 de Diciembre, Cercado de Lima, 15046Lima's art museum, dating from 1959 and listed as a cultural heritage site
Dating from 1959, the Lima Art Museum stands on Avenida 9 de Diciembre in Cercado de Lima, postal code 15046, and the building is recorded as a cultural heritage site in Peru, so the walk up to the door counts as part of the visit. Don't treat it as a quick stop between other errands. A city's own art museum is where you learn how the place sees itself, and that deserves a proper block of time. We could not verify opening hours, so check mali.pe on the day you plan to go rather than trusting an old guidebook page. Pair it with nothing else that morning.
Dates from 1959
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5 Gold Museum of Peru and Weapons of the World
1100 Jirón Alonso de Molina, Monterrico, 15033Gold and weapons under one roof, open daily, at a museum dating from 1968
The Gold Museum of Peru and Weapons of the World sits at 1100 Jirón Alonso de Molina in Monterrico, 15033, and opens 10:30 to 18:00 every day of the week. The museum dates from 1968. The name itself tells you what to expect: two collections that have little to do with each other, kept side by side, and the combination is more curiosity than argument. If you want a coherent case for Peru's past, the archaeology museums higher on this list make it better. Come for the oddity, and for the daily hours, which make it a practical Monday option when other doors stay shut. Confirm current details at museoroperu.com.pe.
Dates from 1968
Hours: Mo-Su 10:30-18:00
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6 Museum of Natural History, Lima
Museu Javier Prado, Av. Arenales 1256, Jesús María, Lima, PeruLima's natural history museum, dating from 1918
Call +51 1 4710117 before making the trip to Av. Arenales 1256 in Jesús María, because we could not verify opening hours for the Museum of Natural History, Lima. That call takes a minute and saves you a wasted journey. The museum dates from 1918 and covers something no other entry on this list touches: the natural world rather than the human one. Lima's museums are not all empires and artefacts, and an hour among natural history collections puts the land those empires grew from into proper perspective. For children it is a better rainy-day option than another hall of ceramics. Go mid-morning and leave the afternoon for a slower walk through Jesús María.
Dates from 1918
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7 Museo del Banco Central de Reserva del Perú
299 Jirón UcayaliThe central bank's museum, dating from 1979 and designated Cultural heritage of Peru
Designated Cultural heritage of Peru, the Museo del Banco Central de Reserva del Perú stands at 299 Jirón Ucayali, dating from 1979. On weekdays the doors open from 10:00 to 16:30, but on Saturday and Sunday the museum closes at 13:00, so a weekend afternoon visit means arriving to find the gate already shut. Come on a weekday morning and you can move through the rooms at your own pace. That a central bank should house a heritage-listed museum is an unusual combination, and it is exactly that combination that earns this place a slot. Check bcrp.gob.pe/museocentral for any changes.
Dates from 1979 · Cultural heritage of Peru
Hours: Mo-Fr 10:00-16:30; Sa-Su 10:00-13:00
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9 BAP Abtao
Avenida Jorge Chávez, CallaoA 1953 Abtao-class submarine you can visit in Callao
Every footstep echoes inside BAP Abtao, a 1953 Abtao-class submarine moored as a museum on Avenida Jorge Chávez in Callao. This is the one entry on the list where the building is the exhibit. You are not looking at a vessel in a case; you are inside one, in steel corridors built for sailors rather than visitors. It beats the gallery-after-gallery afternoon for anyone who has had enough glass cases for one trip, and we'd call it the best answer on this list for teenagers. Tight and close in there, so anyone uneasy in small spaces should think twice. We could not verify opening hours, so confirm locally before you make the trip out to Callao.
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11 Museo Pedro de Osma
421 Avenida Pedro de Osma, Barranco, Lima 15063An art museum in Barranco designated Cultural heritage of Peru
Museo Pedro de Osma sits at 421 Avenida Pedro de Osma, Barranco, Lima 15063, open 10:00 to 18:00, Tuesday to Sunday. An art museum dating from 1987, it carries the designation Cultural heritage of Peru. Barranco has a reputation as a neighbourhood for an evening out, and most visitors come for the bars and not much else. There are no Monday hours, so cross that day off. Come instead on a weekday afternoon before dinner: you get a heritage-listed art museum and then the district at its liveliest. The official site is museopedrodeosma.org.
Dates from 1987 · Cultural heritage of Peru
Hours: Tu-Su 10:00-18:00
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12 Museo de la Inquisición y del Congreso
Avenida AbancayA museum of the Inquisition and of Congress, dating from 1968 and designated Cultural heritage of Peru
The official page for the Museo de la Inquisición y del Congreso lives on the congreso.gob.pe domain, which tells you who looks after it. The museum is on Avenida Abancay, it dates from 1968, and it carries the designation Cultural heritage of Peru. The two halves of the name pull hard against each other: an institution of religious coercion and an institution of representative government, kept under one title. Skip it if you want a light hour; this museum asks you to sit with uncomfortable history, and if you are willing to do that, it may stay with you longer than anything else on this list. We could not verify hours, so check the Congress page first.
Dates from 1968 · Cultural heritage of Peru
This is an early version of the Lima list. We add picks as we test more places.
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