Lima, Peru
Lima highlights
Pacific Ocean Boardwalk
Bridge of Sighs
Parque de Familia
Food
Why visit Lima?
For a bustling culinary capital with sea views.
Getting there and around
We visited Peru in October 2022. We flew indirect with Copa Airlines from Los Angeles via Panama. At the bag drop, Copa required us to show proof of our onward travel, covid vaccinations and Peru health affidavit form before allowing us to board the flight.
Through our hotel in Lima, we had arranged a taxi transfer from the airport; a journey of about half an hour which cost £25. The driver met us at the airport and expertly navigated the Lima traffic to drop us at our hotel door.
It’s worth knowing that drivers in Peru are somewhat erratic, they use their mobile phones and watch videos while driving; lane markings are optional; there are no car seats; and zebra crossings and speed bumps are frequently ignored.
We purchased an e-sim for Peru from Airalo. Using credits built up through previous purchases with worth £4, this sim only cost £3.
Accommodation
We stayed at the 3bs (Bed and Breakfast in Barranco). The 3b hostal is a small and modern hotel in the Barranco area of Lima. We had one double room and one twin room next door to each other.
The hotel was extremely good value. Our two night stay cost only £200 (£50 per room per night). The building isn’t heated so it was a little cold and damp but not unbearably so and extra blankets were available.
The staff were friendly and helpful, and Elizabeth the proprietor was welcoming. The excellent value rooms included breakfast which was a selection of eggs made to order, toast and fresh fruit, and very nicely done.
Our star rating: 3
Our cost rating: 4
Pacific Ocean Boardwalk
We arrived in the late afternoon and stayed for 2 nights which gave us only one day to spend in Lima.
We were tired and jet lagged so we used that day to explore the Barranco area rather than the city centre.
We walked for about 15 minutes to the centre of Barraco. Along the seafront are lots of pretty gardens and view points to watch the surfers in the ocean below and the paragliders above.
Bridge of Sighs
We walked to the Bridge of Sighs where it is said that if you hold your breath while walking across it, your wishes will come true.
Another legend is that the daughter of a merchant fell in love with a street sweeper. Her father forbade the marriage and locked her in her room where she would stand by her window sighing as people crossed the bridge.
(Or maybe it was the women and allies of Lima heaving a collective sigh at yet another misogynistic fairytale)!
But anyway… the bridge provides an attractive view of the streets and colourful graffitied buildings below and is a popular sunset viewing spot.
Parque de la Familia
Near our hotel was the parque de la familia where the kids played at the neighbourhood’s small but decently equipped playground. The playground and park were busy with families enjoying their Sunday.
Food
Peru has amazing ingredients and cuisine and there are a number of Michelin starred restaurants in Lima offering tasting menus like Central and Maido.
There are also plenty of hole-in-the-wall places and bodegas too. The food was much fresher and healthier than most of what we found to eat in the USA, and for half the price.
We had booked to eat at the highly rated Mayta for lunch but instead we decided to stay close to the hotel and had lunch at Colonia & Co in Barranco.
Although it didn’t offer the same culinary art experience promised by Mayta, Colonia had great service; affordable delicious food; and pretty surroundings. The breakfast options looked great too. Highly recommended.
We also had a wonderful dinner at LA73 which served fusion Peruvian - Asian food in generous portions with healthy fresh ingredients. Char sui pork and prawns with fried rice was a big hit with the kids, and slow roasted belly pork with peanuts, seasonal vegetables and quinoa was delicious too.
Our waiter was wonderfully kind, and we muddled through with their very good English and our basic Spanish. We highly recommend this excellent restaurant.
We also got to try Inka Kola for the first time; it took us a while to pin down the taste but we reckon it tastes similar to cola ice pops! And if that wasn’t enough sugar, churros filled with caramel and dipped in rich chocolate for dessert.
Final Thoughts
It was a shame that because of flight schedules we only had two nights and one day in Lima and didn’t make it to the historic centre or any of the city’s museums or galleries.
So we didn’t see much of Lima really and we couldn’t do the city justice in the short time we had, but we did have a pleasant time in the Barranco district which is a pretty and lively district.
All of the Limeños people that we met were kind, the neighbourhood was clean and we felt safe. And we loved the wonderful food that we ate there!
