Lima's must-sees fall into two groups, and a good visit draws from both. The first is the colonial core of Cercado de Lima, where Jirón Carabaya alone carries the Cathedral of Lima, the Government Palace, and the Archbishop's Palace of Lima, and where the Monastery of San Francisco, which dates from 1546, holds UNESCO World Heritage Site status. The second group reaches back further and spreads across the wider city: Huaca Pucllana is an archaeological site, Huaycán de Pariachi sits out in Ate, and Puruchuco has its own address on Avenida Museo. The list also crosses the river into Rímac for the Plaza de toros de Acho and goes out to La Molina for a modern religious landmark dated to 1986. This list is for travellers who would rather understand a city than collect it. Some sites post hours and some do not, so read each entry before you set out. Give the old centre a full morning on foot, then give the archaeological sites the afternoons they need.
-
1 Cathedral of Lima
200 Jirón Carabaya, Cercado de Lima, 15001A Roman Catholic cathedral dated to 1535, the anchor of the colonial centre
The Cathedral of Lima, dated to 1535, stands on Jirón Carabaya in Cercado de Lima and is the building to see first if you want the rest of the old city to make sense. A 16th century Roman Catholic cathedral, it carries the Cultural heritage of Peru designation. Don't stop at the quick photo from outside; give the interior real time, because a church this old rewards a slow look more than a snapshot of the facade. Go early, take a seat for ten minutes before you start walking, and treat it as the anchor of a morning on foot through the centre.
Dates from 1535 · Cultural heritage of Peru
-
2 Government Palace
Jirón Carabaya, Cercado de LimaThe working seat of Peru's executive branch and the President's official residence
On Jirón Carabaya in Cercado de Lima, the Government Palace is not a monument you visit so much as one you stand before and reckon with. It is the seat of the executive branch of the Peruvian Government and the official residence of the President of Peru, sitting about 12 degrees south of the equator and 77 west of Greenwich, and it carries the Cultural heritage of Peru designation. We wouldn't spend time trying to get inside. What you're here for is to stand on a working street of state and feel that, then walk the centre around it with that in mind.
Cultural heritage of Peru
-
3 Puruchuco
4500 Avenida Museo, PuruchucoA protected heritage site with a proper street address, easy to reach by taxi
Out at 4500 Avenida Museo, Puruchuco is where you leave the colonial churches behind for an afternoon. It is a cultural heritage site in Peru with the national Cultural heritage of Peru designation, at roughly 12 degrees south, and a half-day here tells you more about Lima than another circuit of the colonial squares. The address is the practical thing that makes this work: write down 4500 Avenida Museo, hand it to your driver, and you arrive without circling. Bring water, wear proper shoes, and keep the afternoon free.
Cultural heritage of Peru
-
4 Archbishop's Palace of Lima
282 Jirón Carabaya, Cercado de Lima, 15001Posted visiting hours of 08:30 to 17:00, Monday to Saturday, in the heart of the centre
From 08:30 to 17:00, Monday to Saturday, the Archbishop's Palace of Lima is open on Jirón Carabaya in the 15001 postcode of Cercado de Lima. It is a cultural heritage site in Peru with the Cultural heritage of Peru designation, and its official page is hosted on the archdiocese's own website. The posted hours stop at Saturday, so arriving on a Sunday means a closed door. Come mid-morning on a weekday instead, when the timetable is on your side, and plan the rest of your centre walk around this one: of the sites here, it has the clearest schedule.
Cultural heritage of Peru
Hours: Mo-Sa 08:30-17:00
-
5 Monastery of San Francisco
Jirón Áncash, Cercado de LimaA UNESCO World Heritage Site dating from 1546
The Monastery of San Francisco has stood on Áncash in Cercado de Lima since 1546, and its UNESCO World Heritage Site designation already sets it apart from the long list of colonial buildings competing for your morning. It sits about 12 degrees south of the equator, in the same old centre as the cathedral district streets. Resist squeezing it between other stops. A monastery with this pedigree deserves an unhurried visit, and one slow hour here will give you more than three rushed ones elsewhere. Arrive with time to spare, and leave when you have finished seeing it, not when your schedule says so.
Dates from 1546 · UNESCO World Heritage Site
-
6 Huaycán de Pariachi
An archaeological site out in Ate, well beyond the colonial core
Pack water and keep a whole afternoon free for Huaycán de Pariachi, an archaeological site in Ate. It lies about 12 degrees south and nearly 77 degrees west, which places it a deliberate trip away rather than a stop on a walking loop. Lima's past reaches well beyond the handful of sites every tour bus covers, and this one asks more of you: a driver who knows the way, comfortable shoes, and patience. In return, you get an archaeological site seen at your own pace, on your own terms. Save a dry pin on your phone map before you leave, because you will want it on the way out.
-
7 El Paraíso
A nationally designated heritage site for travellers willing to go beyond the old centre
Put El Paraíso on the plan for any day you want a heritage site rather than another church. It carries the Cultural heritage of Peru designation and lies just under 12 degrees south and a little past 77 degrees west. There is no street number to give a driver, so save the map pin before you set off. This is a different proposition from the tour-bus checklist that treats Lima as nothing more than a few colonial squares: go with a plan for getting back, carry what you need for a few hours, and leave room to stay longer than you expected.
Cultural heritage of Peru
-
8 Torre Tagle Palace
Jr. Ucayali 363A palace dating from 1735 on Jr. Ucayali, with an official site worth checking before you go
Torre Tagle Palace at Jr. Ucayali 363 has stood in Lima since 1735, a cultural heritage site in Peru carrying the designation Cultural heritage of Peru, with its own official website. Most walkers give it a quick glance from the pavement and move on; we'd cross the street instead, take in the whole front, and then check the official site to see what lies beyond it. The address, 363, makes it easy to find on foot, and it fits neatly into a morning in the centre. Give it the attention you would give the cathedral.
Dates from 1735 · Cultural heritage of Peru
-
9 Plaza de toros de Acho
332 Jirón Hualgayoc, RímacA bullring dating from 1766, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site
Plaza de toros de Acho sits at 332 Jirón Hualgayoc in Rímac, open weekdays from 08:30 to 16:30. The bullring dates from 1766 and carries a UNESCO World Heritage Site designation, so come for the building and its history, whatever you think of the spectacle. The posted hours run Monday to Friday, so there is no point crossing into Rímac on a weekend. Pick a weekday morning, go straight to the gate, and give yourself time to walk the ring slowly. Few places in Lima set a date this old against a structure this large.
Dates from 1766 · UNESCO World Heritage Site
Hours: Mo-Fr 08:30-16:30
-
10 St. Peter's Church
Jirón UcayaliA UNESCO World Heritage Site church dating from 1638
St. Peter's Church on Jirón Ucayali, about 12 degrees south of the equator, dates from 1638 and is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site as well as a cultural heritage site in Peru. The locals tend to prefer a church where they can sit quietly to a headline sight that turns into a queue, and this is the place for that. Come between other stops, take a pew, and give it twenty unhurried minutes. No guide is necessary. What it asks of you is that you stop moving long enough to look properly.
Dates from 1638 · UNESCO World Heritage Site
-
11 Huaca Pucllana
A nationally designated archaeological site within the city
If you have time for one archaeological site, make it Huaca Pucllana, designated as Cultural heritage of Peru. It sits at roughly 12 degrees south and 77 degrees west, and the bundle records no street number, so pin it on your map before you set out. Resist the instinct to read Lima as a colonial city and nothing more. A site like this changes how you interpret the rest of the list, fits into a single afternoon, and needs no long drive out of town. Go with questions, ask them on site, and leave the churches for the next morning.
Cultural heritage of Peru
-
12 Lima Peru Temple
6420 Avenida Javier Prado Este, La Molina, 15024A modern religious landmark from 1986, with its own official temple page
Check the official page before making the trip to the Lima Peru Temple at 6420 Avenida Javier Prado Este, La Molina, 15024. The temple dates from 1986, and its page sits in the Church of Jesus Christ's own temple directory, which is where you confirm what visitors can and cannot do. If colonial stone is what you're after, this is the wrong address. Go when you want a modern religious landmark that throws the old centre's dates into relief. The full street number and postcode make it easy to give a driver, so there is no reason to arrive at the wrong place.
Dates from 1986
Last verified by automated review (v1.7.2_fame1017b-1015-3464-20261016221053) on . What is automated review?