5 Things to Do in Lima, Peru

A UNESCO World Heritage colonial core centered on the Plaza Mayor, ringed by the Lima Cathedral and ornate carved wooden balconies characteristic of Spanish colonial Lima.

Good to know: The Convent of San Francisco, just off the main square, has catacombs beneath it that are worth combining with a plaza visit.

A pre-Columbian art museum housed in an 18th-century viceroy's mansion, with one of the finest collections of ancient Peruvian ceramics anywhere, including a well-known (separately displayed) gallery of erotic pottery — set in genuinely beautiful gardens.

Good to know: The on-site garden restaurant is one of Lima's best-regarded, worth combining a meal with the museum visit.

A clifftop coastal boardwalk running for miles along the Pacific, popular with paragliders launching off the cliffs, and home to the heart-shaped Parque del Amor overlooking the ocean.

Good to know: Watch (or book) paragliding off the cliffs at Parque del Amor — it's one of Lima's signature experiences.

A bohemian former beach resort neighborhood known for street art, the photogenic Bridge of Sighs (Puente de los Suspiros), and Lima's best concentration of nightlife and live music.

Good to know: This is the neighborhood for evening/nightlife — it has a completely different energy from the more formal Miraflores or historic center.

One of the oldest Chinatowns in the Americas, dating to 19th-century Chinese immigration, and the birthplace of chifa — Peruvian-Chinese fusion cuisine now considered a defining part of Lima's food identity.

Good to know: Order a chifa dish like arroz chaufa — it's a genuine, distinct cuisine, not simply Chinese food transplanted unchanged.