Lima

About

Lima is the capital and largest city of Peru, as well as a primate city. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of the central coastal part of the country, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The city is considered the political, cultural, financial and commercial center of Peru. Due to its geostrategic importance, the Globalization and World Cities Research Network has categorized it as a "beta" tier city. Jurisdictionally, the metropolis extends mainly within the province of Lima and in a smaller portion, to the west, within the Constitutional Province of Callao, where the seaport and the Jorge Chávez Airport are located. Both provinces have had regional autonomy since 2002.

Summary excerpted from the Wikipedia article Lima, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Text may be clipped or paraphrased to fit this page.

Why visit

Visit Lima for museums, galleries, and collections, markets, streets, food, and public squares, landscape, water, gardens, and nearby routes. The value of Lima is clearest when museums, streets, religious buildings, markets, food, and nearby landscape are read together. A good itinerary should stay selective. Let one institution, district, or landscape edge organize the day in Lima, then keep the supporting stops close. The result is a day in Lima that can be followed, remembered, and adjusted. For Lima, nearby landscapes and day trips should explain the city, not turn the itinerary into transit work.

When to avoid

Do not visit Lima expecting every useful stop to be close together or easy to improvise. In Lima, opening hours, transport, weather, crowds, and distance can shape the day more than the list of sights. In Lima, keep the plan compact, check hours before arrival, and use taxis or rideshares when public transport is inconvenient or safety varies by area. If the main interest is one nearby site, it may be better to treat Lima as a base rather than the whole destination.

The next week in Lima

7-day forecast from Open-Meteo. UV badges flag days when sun protection matters (3 and above is moderate; 8 and above is risk territory for unprotected fair skin within 30 minutes).

Year-round climate

Monthly highs, lows, and rainfall (long-term averages, NASA POWER).

Airports near Lima

1 commercial airport within 100 km. Closest is Jorge Chávez International Airport (LIM) at 8 km.

Getting around Lima

Public-transit operators within 8 km of the city center. Click through to each operator’s site for routes, fares, and tickets.

Operators and modes aggregated by TransitLand from individual transit-agency GTFS feeds. Route classifications (subway / tram / rail / bus / etc) come from each feed’s GTFS route_type codes.