What are the best places to visit in Lima?

Start with the historic center, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with the Plaza Mayor and the San Francisco Monastery. Then walk the clifftops of Miraflores, spend an evening in Barranco and visit Museo Larco for pre-Columbian art. Huaca Pucllana, an adobe pyramid, stands right in Miraflores. Our guide to the best things to do in Lima has the full list.

How many days should I spend in Lima?

One or 2 full days is enough for most travelers. One day covers the historic center and an evening in Miraflores or Barranco. A second day adds a market visit and a cooking class. Add a third for the Huacachina oasis or sandboarding south of the city.

What Lima tours do you offer?

We include Lima in multi-day Peru trips, from Desert Treasures & Inca Wonders (7 days, from USD 1,869) to the 10-Day Peru Gourmet Tour (from USD 4,938). On their own, the Huacachina day trip starts from USD 339 and sandboarding at the Chilca dunes from USD 149. Most itineraries can also add a half-day city tour on your arrival day.

What are the top food experiences in Lima?

Try ceviche, lomo saltado and anticuchos, take a hands-on cooking class and visit a local market to taste Peruvian fruits. For a special dinner, Central, Maido and Mayta are among the city’s most acclaimed restaurants, and Central was named the world’s best restaurant in 2023. Book weeks ahead.

Is Lima safe for tourists?

Lima is generally safe in the districts where most travelers stay, such as Miraflores, Barranco and San Isidro, with normal city precautions. The US State Department rates Peru as a whole at Level 2, Exercise Increased Caution. Use registered taxis or ride apps. We confirm the latest advice before you travel.

When is the best time to visit Lima?

December to April is Lima’s summer, sunny and warm, with highs around 77 to 82°F (25 to 28°C), and the best time for the beach and the coast. From May to November skies are grey with a fine drizzle called garúa, but rain is rare and tours run all year.

Can I visit Huacachina as a day trip from Lima?

Yes, but it is a long day. Huacachina is about 4 to 5 hours south of Lima by road each way. Our day trip leaves at 6:30 am, stops for a pisco tasting at Hacienda Caravedo, then does dune buggies and sandboarding at sunset, and is back around 11:00 pm. See the Huacachina day trip for what is included.

Are Lima tours good for families and first-time visitors?

Yes. The city is at sea level, so there is no altitude to worry about, and our guides adapt the pace for children and older travelers. Families can add parks, museums or a bike ride in Miraflores and Barranco, as on our 12-day family tour, which starts in Lima.

Why is Lima worth visiting?

Lima is where Peru’s food scene is at its best, from street ceviche to tasting menus, and it holds a UNESCO-listed historic center, an adobe pyramid from the Lima culture in Miraflores and the Pacific clifftops. It is also the main international gateway, so a stop costs little extra time.

Lima Tours & Peru Trips from Lima

Historic center, Barranco, ceviche and the desert coast, on trips that start in Peru’s capital

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WhyYou’ll Love These Tours

Food Comes First Market visits, a hands-on ceviche class and, on our gourmet tour, lunch at Museo Larco and an optional table at Central or Maido.
History in the Center Guided walks around the Plaza Mayor and the San Francisco Monastery, in a historic center listed by UNESCO in 1988.
Desert Coast Nearby Dune buggies at the Huacachina oasis, the Ballestas Islands or sandboarding at Chilca, about an hour south of Lima.

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An unforgettable Peru trip thanks to Exploor Peru!

Exploor was the best choice we made for our Peru trip. They planned every part of the trip exceptionally well right from the planning to scheduling and sharing of information.

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Lima Tours with a Local Team

Almost every trip to Peru starts in Lima, and many travelers rush straight through to Cusco. Give it at least one full day and you get a historic center listed by UNESCO in 1988, cliff-top neighborhoods above the Pacific and one of the best food cities in the world: Central was named the world’s best restaurant in 2023.

Our Lima tours are built into multi-day trips around Peru, so your city days connect smoothly with Cusco, Machu Picchu or the Amazon. The 8-Day Peru Culinary Tour (from USD 2,499) spends 2 days in Lima with a welcome dinner, a guided market visit, a tasting of Peruvian fruits and a hands-on ceviche class before flying to Cusco. Peru Uncovered (from USD 2,639, 10 days) opens with a half-day tour of the historic center, including the Plaza Mayor and the San Francisco Monastery, and a culinary afternoon, then flies to the Amazon at Puerto Maldonado.

For serious food lovers, the 10-Day Peru Gourmet Tour (from USD 4,938) adds a private city tour, lunch at Museo Larco and, on request, a table at Central, Maido or Mayta. If you want the desert coast instead, Desert Treasures & Inca Wonders (from USD 1,869, 7 days) and Best of Peru in 6 Days (from USD 1,899) both include a full day south of Lima at the Huacachina oasis before Cusco and Machu Picchu.

Only have a day or two in Lima? Most of our itineraries can add a half-day city tour on your arrival day. The Huacachina day trip from Lima (from USD 339) leaves at 6:30 am for a pisco tasting at Hacienda Caravedo, then dune buggies and sandboarding at sunset, and is back at your hotel around 11:00 pm. Closer to the city, sandboarding in Lima (from USD 149) takes you by off-road jeep to the Chilca dunes, about an hour south, with an instructor who starts you on a small dune.

When to go. Lima has 2 very different faces. From December to April it is sunny and warm, with daytime highs around 77 to 82°F (25 to 28°C). From May to November the sky stays grey and the garúa, a fine coastal drizzle, rolls in, but real rain is rare and the city works just as well for food and museums.

Planning free time of your own? Our guide to the best things to do in Lima covers museums, markets and where to eat between tours.

8-Day Peru Culinary Tour

Eight days inside Peru's food revolution - guided by those who live it.

Lima, Cusco, Sacred Valley & Machu Picchu

8 days /

from:USD 2499

Peru Uncovered

For travelers who want more than the highlights.

Lima, Puerto Maldonado, Cusco & Machu Picchu

10 days /

from:USD 2639

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Featured Experiences

Markets and a Ceviche Class
Walk a local market with your guide, taste Peruvian fruits you will not find at home and make ceviche yourself in a hands-on class, as on our culinary tours.
The Historic Center
A guided walk through the Plaza Mayor, colonial streets and the San Francisco Monastery, the core of a historic center on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1988.
Miraflores and Barranco
The 2 seaside districts where many travelers stay, with cliff-top parks over the Pacific in Miraflores and cafés and street art in Barranco. Our 12-day family tour explores both by bike.

How Many Days in Lima, and Which Trip?

1 day in Lima. Enough for a half-day city tour of the historic center and an evening in Miraflores or Barranco. On our shorter trips, like Best of Peru in 6 Days and Desert Treasures & Inca Wonders, the arrival day is free, and you can add the half-day city tour as an option.

2 days in Lima. Add a food day: a market visit, a cooking class and a long lunch. Our culinary tours, from USD 2,499 for 8 days, are built around this, and Peru Uncovered fits a city tour and a culinary afternoon into one day.

3 days or more. Use the extra day to leave the city: the Huacachina oasis and a pisco distillery to the south, or the sandboarding trip to Chilca if you want a shorter outing.

Which trip for whom? Food lovers: the 8-day culinary tour or the 10-day gourmet tour, from USD 4,938. First-time visitors short on time: Desert Treasures & Inca Wonders, from USD 1,869, or Best of Peru in 6 Days, from USD 1,899. Wildlife: Peru Uncovered, from USD 2,639, which adds 2 nights in the Amazon. Travelers who want the whole south of Peru: the 16-Day Peru Highlights Tour, from USD 3,999, with Arequipa, the Colca Canyon, Lake Titicaca and the Amazon.

Wherever you stay, spend an evening in Barranco, the old seaside district of artists and cafés. Our guide to Barranco tells you where to start.

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Did You Know?

In the middle of Miraflores, between apartment blocks and busy streets, stands Huaca Pucllana, an adobe pyramid built by the Lima culture between about 200 and 700 AD, centuries before the Incas. Because it sits in the district where many travelers stay, it is easy to fit into a free morning, or ask us to add it to your city tour.