What's a good 3-day itinerary for Lima?

Three days, three zones, no backtracking. Day 1 covers Centro Histórico, Lima's colonial grid. Day 2 runs south along the Pacific cliffs through Miraflores and Barranco. Day 3 goes inland to Pueblo Libre for the Larco Museum, then circles back through San Isidro. Base yourself in Miraflores near Parque Kennedy. The Metropolitano bus reaches Centro in 35 minutes for 2.50 soles, and most dinner restaurants sit within walking distance. One US dollar currently gets you about 3.38 soles. Lima scores 4.2 out of 10 for solo-traveler safety (see the TTDI Solo-Safety Index), with the risk concentrated in certain neighborhoods after dark. Miraflores and Barranco at night feel fine. The winter garúa, Lima's damp grey mist, hangs over the city from June through September. The temperature currently hovers around 21°C with 78% humidity. Pack a light waterproof layer. The air near any street cart smells like anticuchos sizzling over charcoal, and near the coast, salt and wet concrete.

Plaza Mayor at 8:30 AM is quiet enough to hear water hitting the basin of the 1651 bronze fountain. The Cathedral of Lima, founded in 1535, needs about 45 minutes. The carved cedarwood choir stalls are the real draw, and Pizarro's remains sit in a side chapel behind glass. By 10:30, walk two blocks south to the Monastery of San Francisco. The catacombs are cool and chalky, holding an estimated 25,000 sets of bones arranged in concentric circles. Return to the plaza by noon for the Government Palace's changing of the guard, a full military band for about 20 minutes. Lunch at El Cordano on Jirón Ancash, a cantina operating since 1905. The tamal criollo costs 18 soles, about $5.30. Cross the Río Rímac on the stone Puente de Piedra to Rímac's Alameda de los Descalzos, a 17th-century promenade with 12 marble zodiac statues. Take the Metropolitano back to Miraflores before 5 PM. Centro's streets feel different after dark.

Start at Huaca Pucllana by 8 AM. This pre-Inca adobe pyramid sits in the middle of a Miraflores residential block, and the morning tour slot costs 15 soles with fewer visitors. By 10 AM, walk the Malecón, the clifftop path above the Pacific. The wind is cool and salt-heavy. You might hear paragliders launching from the bluff near Parque del Amor's mosaic benches. Lunch at La Mar on Avenida La Mar, Gastón Acurio's cevichería. It opens at noon and closes at 5 PM with no dinner service. A mixed ceviche runs about 65 soles. The leche de tigre, that sharp citrus-chili broth, tends to be better here than anywhere else in the city. After lunch, taxi to Barranco for about 8 soles and 10 minutes. Walk the Bajada de los Baños, a narrow lane of wooden houses in faded pastels that drops to a pebble beach. Dinner at Isolina on Avenida San Martín. The carapulcra and sopa seca, a split-plate tradition from Chincha, runs about 48 soles.

The Larco Museum in Pueblo Libre opens at 9 AM. A taxi from Miraflores takes about 20 minutes and 15 soles. Founded in 1926, the museum fills an 18th-century viceregal mansion with white walls covered in bougainvillea. The pre-Columbian pottery collection spans roughly 4,000 years. The erotic ceramics gallery in the back building is worth the detour on its own. Coffee afterward at Café del Museo, under frangipani trees in the garden. By noon, taxi to San Isidro. Parque El Olivar holds about 1,600 olive trees planted around 1560, and the midday quiet is a genuine relief after two days of city noise. Lunch at Malabar on Camino Real, where Pedro Miguel Schiaffino works with Amazonian ingredients. Main courses run 80 to 130 soles. If your feet can take one more stop, Huaca Huallamarca is a restored adobe pyramid 3 blocks from El Olivar. Entry costs 5 soles.