If we’re being honest, I don’t know many people who come to Peru to specifically visit Lima. Most people, including us, land in Lima from their far-flung destinations and spend a few days in the capital city before going on to more popular tourist destinations like Cusco or Puerto Maldonado. However, that doesn’t mean that Lima isn’t an amazing city. It was very clean, walkable, and safe feeling in all the tourist areas. So we’ve created a great one-day jam-packed Lima itinerary that is perfect for travelers like us who want a taste of Lima without spending too much time in this destination. Keep reading for the perfect one day in Lima itinerary.
With one day in Lima, you’ll have time to see all of the top historic sights, try some of the famous Lima dishes and drinks and then be on to your next Peruvian adventure!
When To Visit Lima
The best time to visit Lima is in the Peruvian summer, otherwise known as the rainy season, from December-February. During this time of year, you may actually see the sun! Lima is famous for its fog and fog is the default weather a majority of the year. Temperatures during the summer are often nice and warm making beach going a popular activity.
However, Lima really is pleasant year-round. This is because the Pacific Ocean acts as a moderator for weather keeping temperatures mild and rain minimal throughout the year. That same Pacific Ocean also keeps the fog in place throughout the year as well.
Getting There and Around
Lima has a large international airport. That’s probably the reason you’re visiting Lima – because you landed there. Because of Lima’s airport, it’s also a popular layover destination for people flying from one Peruvian destination to another on their domestic flights.
Once you arrive in Lima, you want to plan your time in different neighborhoods to minimize back and forth movement. This is because you should minimize your car travel as much as possible because traffic in Lima is horrible during all daylight hours. Use registered taxis or ride-shares to travel between neighborhoods and walk the rest of the time you’re in the tourist districts. Both taxis and rideshares are inexpensive. Also, consider hiring a driver for the day. You can get a taxi for the full day for reasonable prices and then you can avoid having to reserve multiple cars. Before getting in a taxi or rideshare, confirm the price! You can often get ripped off by drivers so stick with highly rated ride share drivers or taxis your hotel recommends.
Peru also has a strong bus system – that is subject to traffic as well – but when we were there, we saw lots of extra packed buses that wouldn’t even stop for passengers because they were too full. This makes traveling by bus unreliable with a tight timetable. Also, I would be extra worried about pickpockets on these buses because they are so crammed.
Itinerary For One Day In Lima
Morning – Historic City Center
In the morning, take a taxi or rideshare to the Centro Histórico or the historic city center. You can arrange this with your hotel. The heart of this district is the Plaza de Armas. This square is surrounded by beautiful historic architecture, lots of street vendors and street performers and crowds of people.
If you do one guided tour in the area, we’d recommend the San Francisco Convent and catacombs. Just around the corner from the main plaza is the beautiful and historic church with underground catacombs. There is so much history here I don’t think we would have appreciated it as much without our tour guide. Our guide showed us the church, the library which was spectacular, and the catacombs which were very interesting. The price of admission includes a guide but you have to make sure you’re there at the correct time to get a tour in your language (English or Spanish).
Next, stroll through this tourist region to shop or to sip pisco (you can drink it at any time of day – you’re on vacation). There are several pedestrian only streets in this area which have high concentrations of shops catering to tourists. Make your way back to the Plaza de Armas. If you have extra time, take a tour of the Cathedral of Lima.
Make sure you head back to the square a bit before 11:45 so you can witness the changing of the guard. Yup – that’s right – just like in London. On one side of the Plaza de Armas is the govermental palace of Peru and official presidential residence. The guards to a choreographed military procession on the front patio area that lasts about 30 minutes.
Hail a ride share to take you back to Miraflores, which has much better lunch options.
Lunch – Ceviche
For lunch, ceviche is a must-try. The seafood is so fresh in Lima because of the sea right there. And Peru in general is great at a ceviche. There are many great places in Miraflores for ceviche – we tried at least three different ceviches in this area. However, our favorite place was Punto Azul and we would highly recommend it. La Mar is also very good – we liked that they had a ceviche sampler platter.
Afternoon – Miraflores & Barranco
After lunch, make your way to the coast. Your first stop will be Love Park. This is a popular tourist destination for viewing the Pacific Ocean. It is a famous park for the dramatic views, romantic sculptures and mosaics. It is often listed as one of the most romantic places in the world.
You can then take the clifftop boardwalk south to Barranco and Mariposas Park. This is about a 40 minute walk. You could stop before getting this far south if the walking is too much for you.
Next, swing inland and walk back to Miraflores following the main roads. Take in the shops or snacks as you take in the sights. This is a pretty big walk that just involves wandering so feel free to shorten it or only explore the places you’re interested in if this is too much for you. Personally, we like to walk a lot on vacation – it helps us justify eating a lot while on vacation. On our walk, we stumbled upon a dolce de leche festival, a salsa dancing competition and an art fair. There is a lot going on in these neighborhoods!
Next, head to Huaca Pucllana for an evening tour. This is an ancient ruin that is just sitting in the middle of the city. It’s well know but it feels like a hidden gem. Tours are about 40 minutes, and you do have to visit with a tour guide. The guide gave us a great introduction to all of the civilizations that called Peru home, including Inca, and created a great base education for our future Peru travels. The sights from the top of the temple are really nice too!
Dinner – Fine Dining or Seafood
For dinner, consider pre-booking one of Lima’s many Michelin stared restaurants. Or just try one of their highly rated restaurants. Lima has an amazing food scene. We recommend getting your fill of seafood here – it’s cheap and fresh. Additionally, make sure to try a Pisco Sour the most famous Peruvian drink made with Peruvian brandy, a.k.a. pisco. Or try our favorite, a chilcano, a pisco drink more like a margarita and a mule had a deliciously refreshing baby.
Where To Stay In Lima
We’d recommend staying in Miraflores. Miraflores is central, safe, and walkable. Miraflores is between Barranco and the historic city center. You could walk to Barranco from Miraflores and back if you wanted to. Miraflores also has a heap of restaurants to choose from. It has a small nightlife scene and lots of green spaces.
Where ever you stay, we recommend a hotel with a breakfast. We like to start early and eat breakfast and lots of breakfast restaurants in Lima didn’t open until later in the day.
Other Options
Barranco is another great place to stay with more of an artsy vibe and more nightlife, in our opinion. However, it is farther from the city center.
Lastly, you could stay in the central historic district. There definitely is more to do in the day time in this area. However, because of the large concentration of tourists, it does feel a little less safe – people trying to sell you things, pickpockets, etc. – so we wouldn’t recommend going out late at night here. Which means we also wouldn’t recommend staying overnight here as you’d increase your costs because you’d need to take nighttime rideshares or taxis to get dinner.
Here are some of our top picks for Hotels in Lima:
Miraflores: We stayed in the Dazzler Hotel. It was a great American-style hotel just a bit outside of the main Miraflores area. If you’re looking to save money and have a more localized experience, the La Luna Inn also has breakfast and great reviews.
Historic Center: the Hotel Diamond is just a few block from the main plaza. It has breakfast and great reviews.
Want to Adjust the Lima Itinerary?
With more time, consider a few day trips outside of Lima. We weren’t huge fans of Lima itself – it’s super safe, clean and kind – but there didn’t seem to be a lot to do that was of interest to us.
With additional time and a lot more money, I would definitely consider doing food tours, either guided or ones you create, throughout Lima. This was a great culinary destination and with an unlimited budget I could have spent days here eating.
Is Lima Cheap?
While there are definitely places in Peru that are inexpensive compared with other travel destinations, Lima is not one of those places. Prices in Lima are comparable to other large cities with good tourism infrastructures. If you’re looking for “cheap” you’ll likely sacrifice cleanliness, safety and/or quality. However, there is a wide variety and availability of hotels, meaning there’s one for every budget from $30/night to $500/night. There is also a wide variety in food prices, from $5 street food to $400 tasting menus. The only thing that we would actually consider inexpensive is the tour and admission prices. Most admission prices were under $10 USD and full day tours are available for around $40/person.
Safety In Lima
Lima has some very VERY rough neighborhoods. However, if you stick to Miraflores, Barranco and the old town area of Lima, Lima is very safe. These areas of the city are constantly being cleaned by city staff and there is a wide police and/or military presence here. We felt surprisingly safe in all of the tourist destinations that we visited in Lima.
That being said, stay away from non-tourist districts. Also, be aware of any planned protests that may impact your travel. Protesting in Peru can get violent and you’ll want to reroute yourself away from any. And just be travel smart, keeping your valuables at home and keeping a close eye on your belongings.
We hope this has helped you to spend one day in Lima that is just perfect for you. If you have any questions, please leave them below and we’ll get back to you. Or if you are looking for more Peru vacation planning tools, check out all of our Peru posts here.
