A Weekend in Lima, Peru - Love Always, M+E

Peru is a classic destination for thrill seekers, naturalists, and budget travelers. It is of course known around the world for the iconic Machu Picchu ruins, but the main transit point into the country is the often-skipped capital city: Lima.

There are plenty of travel articles saying it’s only worth a stop if you are interested in the world-class fine dining scene ($$$$), but this article is here to show you all the amazing things this underrated city has to offer, especially for more budget-minded travelers, and how you could spend a weekend here on either end of your Machu Picchu adventure. We loved our time in Lima and hope you will too, so let’s get into how you could spend a few days in the capital!

Breakdown

Friday: casual dinner, potential dessert, Parque Kennedy at night
Saturday: brunch, explore Miraflores, market + seafood lunch, museums/art/ruins, dinner, sunset walk/bike
Sunday: bakery, beach day, surfing, exquisite sandwiches, afternoon of choice

Friday

Let’s assume you fly in on a Friday evening. Catch a 45-ish minute taxi from the airport to Miraflores, where you’ll check in to your hotel/Airbnb. Even though it seems simple, I want to take a moment to talk about the taxi situation. Uber is not allowed to pull up to the airport for pick ups, this means you will be getting an airport approved taxi right at arrivals. The cost should be about $20 or around 60 soles. When a driver offers you a rate, make sure to clarify whether it is in soles or dollars (we made this mistake, our driver said 40, we assumed it meant soles and thought we were getting a great deal, but we arrived to our destination and had to pay $40…).

Once you get to your place, settle in and relax for a bit before heading out into the city for your first evening. Grab a casual dinner if you haven’t eaten yet, La Lucha Sangucheria is AMAZING for sandwiches with Peruvian chicharron and refreshing juices (you may or may not see this place pop up on Sunday too ;)). A sandwich and juice should be about $5. Follow up a delicious meal with some dessert. If you’re like us and love a post-dinner sweet treat, grab some Pinkberry frozen yogurt (~$4) and enjoy it along with the atmosphere of the main square in Miraflores. I know it sounds crazy to get American frozen yogurt of all things, but I promise you’ll see plenty of Peruvians enjoying it too. Parque Kennedy is a great environment for a casual first night enjoying the ambience of the square (just a note: you may be approached by people asking for money. We never felt unsafe, but it’s something to keep in mind).

Head back to your place and get some rest for an exciting first full day in Lima!

Saturday

Wake up to another beautiful day in Peru, and get ready for a day of delicious food and exploration! Things don’t open super early in Lima, but if you’re up and out around 9 am, you should have plenty of time to enjoy all that the city has to offer. Head over to Cafe Milenaria for a delicious breakfast, it’s located in a slightly more residential area of Miraflores and it’s really nice to walk through and get an idea of the local areas and lifestyle. I really recommend the toast with eggs and avocado, the bread is so perfect. They also have yogurt and acai bowls, and the juices are great too (breakfast + a coffee should be under $10/person). It is a beautiful, plant-filled setting in which to relax, enjoy conversation with friends, and plan the rest of your day.

This day is really reserved for exploring Lima, and we’ll provide some of our favorite recommendations, but I also really recommend following your own personal interests and doing a bit of Googling yourself. Some people love ruins and museums, others love trying all the local foods, and some just want to walk around and experience everything that comes their way. Know yourself, and do what YOU want to do!

If Ethan and I had a day to explore Lima, this is what we would do, take what you will! After breakfast we would head to Parque Kennedy, which is named after JFK thanks to his work on the Alliance for Progress, an initiative to enhance economic cooperation between the US and Latin America. The park is also full of super sweet cats. Fun fact: the cats were introduced by priests to control the rampant rats, and the population of cats just increased from there. Enjoy the ambience, walk around, and enjoy the day-time version of the area you ate your ice cream in last night.

There are lots of shops, restaurants, and chains in this area, which are pretty touristy, not to say you couldn’t enjoy them, it’s just more likely than not you won’t spend too much time in the area if you want to avoid higher prices. After Parque Kennedy, start making your way inland, enjoying the sights, smells, and more residential streets of Miraflores if you can, all the way until you hit Mercado nro. 1 de Surquillo. This is a really great local market with fresh produce, juices, and a variety of random goods. Most importantly, it is home to some great seafood spots for lunch. Walk around the market, pick up anything you’d like to try, and if you have questions, just ask the sellers, they are happy to help (but you will need to use some of the Spanish you learned for the trip here). Ethan and I had some of the best mangoes of our lives from this market, so don’t miss the fruits! Don Cevichero comes highly recommended for seafood, with a quaint bar to eat at nestled in the chaos of the market. Enjoy fresh fish and the flow of the world around you. A plate loaded with fresh seafood will run around $11, and you could probably share one plate between two people, especially since you ate breakfast not too long ago.

The afternoon is yours for the taking. As I mentioned before, I am a really big advocate for choosing what feels right for you, not just bopping around to every single location mentioned in a guide book. If you’re interested in seeing some ruins in the midst of the city, head to Huaca Pucllana, which is a clay and adobe pyramid preserved in the center of Miraflores. Be warned, it’s closed on Tuesdays (we may or may not have made that mistake ourselves). The entrance fee is about $2.

If you love history, check out the Larco Museum, which details 5,000 years of pre-Columbian history. They also have a really unique exhibition of erotic pre-Columbian sculpture. We skipped this, but just because we aren’t huge museum people and enjoyed being out in the city a bit more. I’ve heard great things, so if you are a museum buff, it would be a great experience. The entrance is about $10 for adults and $5 for students. Another option for this afternoon is to taxi over to the historical center of the city. We did not do this because we went to other Peruvian cities like Arequipa and Cusco, where it was considerably easier and a bit safer to explore a historic center, plus we were really just enjoying the Miraflores/Barranco area. If you are set on seeing the old center, definitely go during the day, and there is plenty to enjoy. Check out the cathedral, the main square, and pop over to nearby Chinatown for a yummy afternoon snack. In Lima, there is some unique Peruvian-Chinese fusion food, often referred to as Chifa (meaning ‘to eat rice’ in Cantonese), which came about thanks to Chinese immigration to Peru in the 19th and 20th century. It is super yummy and you should definitely give it a try!

If you aren’t headed to the old city and you love art, Barranco is the neighborhood right next to Miraflores, and it is famous for its street art. If you want more in-depth explanations and guidance, you could book a street art tour for the afternoon, otherwise you can check it out on your own and enjoy the art at your own pace. If you get tired, you can stop in one of the many cafes or bars for a coffee or light afternoon drink and enjoy the great vibe of this part of the city.

After a full day of exploring, make your way over to barranco for an early-ish dinner. The time isn’t super important, it just should be before sunset. There is a great authentic Peruvian restaurant called, Canta Rana. This place and the service are absolutely great. It’s authentic food, for a great price, in a lovely area of Barranco, plus it has some fun Futbol themed decor. I would highly recommend the ceviche mixto, along with anything else that catches your eye. Our waiter was also happy to offer us some recommendations, so if you’re not sure, just ask! Just remember that ‘entradas frias’ means cold appetizers, not fried (we may or may not have made that mistake). Dinner will be lovely, casual, and reasonably priced, but so so delicious. Ethan and I both say that one of the best things we ate in all of Peru was that ceviche!

Here is where the early dinner comes into play. After you finish up, head to the coastal trail, which is right down the road. Enjoy the golden hour and sunset as you make your way along the coast back to your place in Miraflores. You can either walk, or use one of the city bikes (all you’ll need to do is download the app “CityBikeLima” and register). This walk back to our place was another one of my favorite memories, it was just so peaceful and gorgeous. The sunsets in Lima are unreal.

Even though we didn’t bike this way back, we did use the bikes a ton during our time in Lima, so if you’re a confident rider, I would totally recommend using the bikes at some point during your trip! Settle in for a cozy night at your place and get ready for an active day tomorrow.

Sunday

For breakfast, you simply have to visit El Pan De La Chola bakery. Enjoy some delicious pastries and a really incredible ham and cheese sandwich on fresh bread (~$8)(which are huge, so you can definitely split. Ethan and I made the mistake of getting two huge sandwiches then going surfing, which made for a very rumbly tummy eek). After breakfast, you should head to Makaha beach for some surf lessons and a bit of beach-laying. Peru has great surfing, and Lima is a great place to try it for the 1st, 5th, or 10th time. If you’re experienced, you can rent a board and wetsuit for about $15 bucks per sesh, but I’d really recommend grabbing a lesson if you’re not. For two people, a one hour lesson is about $30, and it includes all equipment. It was Ethan’s first time and my 3rd, but we both got up a bunch and had a great time with our instructor.

No need to book ahead, just head down to Makaha beach in Miraflores, and there will be plenty of vans parked and offering lessons. You can walk around to try to get the best price, or just go with whichever people you get the best vibe from. I believe we went with Pukana. Afterwards, relax on the beach for a bit and rehydrate after a pretty physical morning.

For lunch, head over to La Lucha Sangucheria Criolla for a delicious chicharron sandwich and truly amazing mango juice, along with the most delicious fries I’ve ever had. (Ethan and I ate at this place at least 3 times when we were in Lima, the food and price are just hard to beat). The interior is renovated, but maintains a super cool historical atmosphere, almost like a 50’s diner.

The afternoon is yours for the taking. Stroll along the coastal trail, grab some fruit from the market for a DIY fruit tasting/picnic, chill at a local cafe, or head to one of the many museums or malls in the area. At this point you’ve already seen a lot of the city, so just do what feels right.

To celebrate your last evening in the city, try some world renowned food. If you have the budget, try out one of the world class restaurants in Lima, like the number 1 in the world, Central (~$400), or Japanese-Peruvian fusion at Maido (~$244), or a timeless classic fine-dining experience like Astrid y Gaston(~$140). While I’m sure these restaurants are amazing, they certainly weren’t in the budget for Ethan and I, so a more affordable, but still incredible restaurant option for your last night is El Bodegon. It still isn’t super cheap, and will likely be about $20 a person, but it’s authentic, still relatively casual & opened by the chef of Astrid y Gaston, which has been lauded as one of the best restaurants in the world. It’s great for a special end of trip celebration, and it gets busy, so a reservation is recommended to avoid a wait. Finish off your meal and enjoy your last walk through the city back to your place before your flight tomorrow!

All in all

Lima is one of many incredible Peruvian cities, and it should not be missed! The food, history, and natural beauty of this city make it a great stop in your Peru itinerary. Thank you all for reading along, I hope this post provided some insights as to what the city has to offer. If you have any questions, just leave them in the comments and I’ll try to answer as many as possible!

Love Always, M+E