Lima for families
Cathedral of Lima is the 16th-century seat of the Archdiocese of Lima on the Plaza Mayor. Teatro Canout is a working Lima theatre in Miraflores, well outside the colonial core.
Lima for families with kids, in numbers
- Score for families
- 6.8 out of 10
- Picks on this page
- 36 places across 3 lists, led by Cathedral of Lima, Teatro Canout, Monastery of San Francisco
Questions families with kids ask about Lima
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Family-friendly
Lima scores 6.8/10 for family friendliness (see the TTDI Family-Friendliness Index), with sidewalk quality and neighborhood choice as the main caveats. Miraflores has flat coastal walkways and clean mall bathrooms. Centro Histórico's broken pavement and drainage grates defeat most strollers. Peruvian staples like lomo saltado and arroz con pollo solve the picky-eater problem for ages 4 and up.
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Is it safe?
Lima is safe enough for a careful solo trip, though not a relaxed one, and we score its solo-traveler safety at 4.2/10 (see the TTDI Solo-Safety Index). Miraflores, San Isidro and central Barranco are workable by day and into the evening. The real risks are motorbike phone snatches, street-hailed taxis and extortion violence in outer districts. Dial 105 for the Peruvian National Police.
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What to pack
Pack layers for Lima's garúa fog (14-19°C, damp June through September) or quick-dry cotton for sunny December-March summer (26-30°C). Year-round, bring closed-toe walking shoes for uneven Centro Histórico cobblestones, a waterproof shell, and knee-covering clothes for the Cathedral of Lima. Skip sunscreen and umbrellas. InkaFarma sells both for under 35 soles.
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Getting around
Uber and InDrive handle most visitor trips in Lima at 6-18 soles between Miraflores, Barranco, and Centro Histórico. The Metropolitano BRT runs a north-south spine through the city for 1.50 soles per ride. Walking works within Miraflores and Barranco but not between districts. Avoid unregulated street taxis, and use the app-based pickup zone at Jorge Chávez airport.
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Best time to visit
December through April is Lima's best window. Temperatures reach 26-28°C, the garúa fog that blankets the city from June through November lifts, and Miraflores and Barranco fill with outdoor dining. January and February are warmest. May and November work as shoulder months with lower hotel rates but occasional grey mornings.
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Curated for families with kids
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Must-see attractions
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.
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Best free attractions
Lima's best free hours are spent outdoors, in public squares and parks you can walk into without a ticket, a guide, or a reservation. Several of the places below carry the national Cultural heritage of Peru designation, so this is more than a list of benches, and the hours vary enough that they are worth reading before you set out. Plaza Mayor is listed as open 24/7, while Park of the Reserve opens only from 14:30 to 21:30, Tuesday to Sunday. Two of the parks have dates attached: El Campo de Marte from 1924 and Park of the Reserve from 1929. A medicinal-plant garden also made the cut, for anyone tired of lawns. The list is for walkers, runners, parents with restless children, and anyone between paid museum visits who wants to see the city without paying for it. Each entry says what is true of that place and when to go, and gives an honest view of whether it deserves your hour.
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Best museums
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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