Set on the Pacific Ocean, Peru’s capital is a low-slung city of traditional colonial buildings contrasted with a growing cosmopolitan centre of gleaming skyscrapers.
Lima is the second-driest capital city in the world, looming above a coastline of crumbling cliffs that often draw a veil of dense fog up into the streets. Despite Peru’s otherwise relaxed pace, the city bustles from dawn to dusk with a soundtrack of pacific waves crashing into the shore and the snarl of noisy traffic.
Like most capital cities, Lima embraces both old and new architectural influences. High-rise apartment blocks in shimmering steel and glass sit alongside pre-Columbian era temples; museums display ancient pottery while contemporary galleries showcase the latest modern art; religious processions fuse with dance clubs reverberating to a Latin beat.
Much has been done to restore the city’s colonial centre to its former glory, including reinvigorating museums like the Museo de Oro – the Gold Museum, and the Museo de Antropologia y Arqueologia, which celebrates the country’s people, archaeology and history.
