Many visitors to the Peruvian capital may be passing through on their way to Cusco and Machu Picchu, but increasing numbers are in town to sample some of the best culture and cuisine South America has to offer, writes TOM HENNIGAN
EVERY VISIT to Lima should start in the city’s imposing colonial cathedral. Just inside the main door on the right-hand side is a chapel where you will find the tomb of one of history’s most remarkable gamblers. There, resting in a small wooden casket, are the mortal remains of Francisco Pizarro, the illegitimate and illiterate adventurer from Spain who with less than 200 followers marched into South America and conquered the mighty Inca Empire.
Having pulled off one of history’s greatest coups Pizarro founded this city in 1535. The Incas preferred to build their palaces high up in the Andes but Pizarro wanted to be close to the sea and the ships with which he sent news, silver and gold back to his king in Spain.
He supposedly marked out the Plaza de Armas with his own sword, laying the cathedral’s first stone and building himself a modest palace on an Indian burial mound, only to be killed in it when his band of conquistadores later fell out with each other.
The plaza has seen numerous makeovers since then. A few years ago, authorities even removed Pizarro’s own statue. It seems Spanish conquistadores are no longer considered heroes in Lima, a city undergoing a renaissance after civil war and economic chaos brought it to the verge of a nervous breakdown in the early 1990s.
Most gringos might still be passing through on their way to Cusco and Machu Picchu, but increasing numbers of Latin neighbours are in town for citybreaks packed with some of the best culture and cuisine that the continent has to offer.
Pizarro’s plaza remains the best starting point to explore the sights in what is the most historic of South America’s capitals. It is an island of calm compared to the heaving metropolis of nine million inhabitants that has grown up around it and the safe and friendly streets around it can easily be explored on foot.
Just around the corner from his palace – which today belongs to Peru’s president – is the Casa de Aliaga (casadealiaga.com – reservation required). This 16th century residence was built by Jerónimo de Aliaga, one of Pizarro’s captains, and remarkably is still occupied by his descendents, a full 15 generations later. Here you pass through its courtyards until you come to a room with a glass case displaying the rusted remains of the sword with which Jerónimo took the surrender of Atahualpa, the last of the Inca emperors.
Nearby is the salmon-pink Convento de Santo Domingo. Founded by the Dominicans in the same year as the city, the monastery was the continent’s first ever religious house, part of a Spanish crusade to turn the sun-worshipping natives into Christians.
It was here the monks established the University of San Marcos, South America’s oldest. Visitors can pass through cloisters which shut out the roar of the surrounding city and go down into the crypt which houses the mortal remains of Santa Rosa de Lima, who when canonised in 1671 became the first saint born in the Americas.
Her skull, crowned with roses, is on display in the main church and is the object of intense reverence from a steady stream of pilgrims, still awed by her accurate prediction of the date of a devastating earthquake that struck the city after her death.
As you ramble in the streets around the Plaza de Armas, remember to look up at the beautifully ornate enclosed wooden balconies that give the historic centre its distinctive charm and whose supreme example is the Casa de Osambela at Jirón Conde de Superunda 298.
These fine townhouses are a reminder of the wealth that passed through Lima when it was the seat of Spanish government on the continent. For centuries, gold and silver poured into the city waiting to be transported back to Europe on treasure fleets that set sail from the city’s port of Callao, where Spanish forces made their last stand on the continent, finally abandoning the Real Felipe fortress in 1826.
Today, this houses Peru’s military museum and is open to visitors, though the obligatory tour is somewhat unenlightening. As Real Felipe is also an active army base, my guide was a taciturn Peruvian army private who clearly resented the tourist invasion and treated most of the fort’s history as a state secret, only loosening up when talking about bits of military kit used in one of several victorious border skirmishes with Ecuador.
THOUGH A REPUBLIC for almost two centuries, Lima retains much of its imperial DNA as reflected in fine plazas and broad avenues. But rapid growth has taken its toll. Often the intended grandeur is undermined by the kind of poor quality buildings that all too frequently characterise large South American cities that exploded in size during the last half century.
But if much of the greater Lima that passes by your car window is architecturally uninspiring, there are compensations. Scattered amidst the sprawl are historical and architectural gems and getting around to see them is very, very cheap.
For real adventure you can take one of the “combis” – minivans blaring salsa as they career about, disregarding most traffic rules in their rush to get passengers to their destination for 40 cents. But a taxi will take you from one end of town to the other for little more than €5, with most rides costing far less.
This allows the eager tourist to work fast, though learn how to count up to 20 in Spanish as taxis do not have meters and you must negotiate with your driver. Once you agree a price, hop in and visit the Indian ruins of Huallamarca and Pucllana in the smart residential neighbourhoods of San Isidro and Miraflores.
Then make your way to the Museo Larco (museolarco.org) in the Pueblo Libre neighbourhood to view one of the world’s biggest collections of pre-Colombian art, including its famed collection of erotic ceramics, all located in the former mansion of a Spanish viceroy.
For something more modern head to the Museo de Arte de Lima (mali.pe) where contemporary exhibitions are on display alongside a permanent collection that spans 3,000 years of Peruvian art. Even more cutting-edge work can be found in the Galería Lucía de la Puente (glu ciadelapuente.com) located in a beautifully restored house in Barranco, a bohemian beachside district.
This was once a seaside holiday resort for rich Limeños, until the ever-expanding city engulfed it and they abandoned their graceful summer mansions only for them to be rediscovered by the artists and their friends who have turned Barranco into Lima’s most charming neighbourhood. Though on the edge of a desert, Lima’s beaches are more about the views from the bluffs overlooking them than stripping off and taking a dip.
You will notice the city’s surfers are wet-suited up and usually have the waters to themselves. That is because running alongside Lima is the Pacific’s decidedly chilly Humboldt Current. This causes the mist that hangs over the city during the winter months and is the reason it is nowhere near as hot as you would expect, considering you are just south of the equator.
Some locals see this as an unfortunate drawback, though many Irish travellers will probably be grateful. One upside everyone can agree on is that the current nourishes one of the world’s most productive fishing grounds, providing key ingredients for another of Lima’s great cultural jewels – its cuisine.
Peruvian food is sensational thanks to the country’s rich variety of ingredients and cultures. It would be wrong to just dwell on ceviche – with a universe of dishes from the Amazon, Andes and up and down the coast there is so much more going on. But these wonderfully artful dishes of fresh fish cooked in citrus juices and spiced with chillies are worth the trip alone.
You can tuck into amazing plates of the stuff served with sweet potatoes and roasted corn kernels at any number of simple hole-in-the-walls all over town. But to get an idea of just how inventive this dish can be, hit one of the cevicherías run by the city’s top chefs. The best known is superstar Gastón Acurio whose La Mar (La Mar 777, lamarcebicheria.com) chain has conquered the Americas. Sit at the bar and order the ceviche tasting menu and prepare to be evangelised.
WITH LARGE Japanese and Chinese communities Lima’s cuisine is heavily influenced by Asia. With all that fish just offshore there is great sushi on offer at places such as the now legendary Matsuei (Manuel Bañón 260, matsueiperu.com) while Osaka (Conquistadores 999, osaka.com.pe) shows that just as the ceviche in places such as La Mar is being influenced by Asia, Japanese food can also be invigorated by contact with its adopted Peruvian home. Tiradito – similar to sashimi but served in a spicy sauce – is the happy offspring of this culinary marriage.
A lot of the city’s fish places close in the late afternoon as the dedication to freshness means they will not serve into the night. The question then becomes whether to gravitate towards the trendy “novoandina” restaurants such as Central (Santa Isabel 376, central restaurante.com.pe) where the culinary vanguard is fusing local cuisine with foreign traditions.
Or instead opt for a bastion of traditional colonial “criollo” cooking at places such as the unashamedly old-school José Antonio (Bernardo Monteagudo 200, joseantonio.com.pe) for anticuchos (skewered beef hearts to you and me), corn tamales and the wonderfully named tacu tacu.
But wherever you dine just remember to try the local pisco, whether straight up or in a pisco sour. This classic Peruvian spirit recently went through some tough decades along with its country. But it is now making a well-deserved comeback, thanks to new artisanal producers who are reviving production.
And just in time too, ready to toast South America’s hot new culinary destination.
Lima where to . . .
Stay
Value:Loki Hostel, Miraflores, 00-51-1-651-2966, lokihostel.com. Owned by three Irish guys who could not drag themselves off the Gringo Trail, this cosy spot is your backpacker home from home. Check out the blackboard for daily expeditions exploring Lima. Beds from €6.50, with a private en suite room costing just €22.
Mid-market:Second Home Peru, Barranco, 00-51-1-247-5522, secondhomeperu.com. Located in bo-ho Barranco, this small guesthouse with views over the Pacific is also a museum to Peruvian sculptor Victor Delfin. Rooms come with all mod cons. En suite doubles from €75.
Upmarket:Country Club Lima Hotel, San Isidro, 00-51-1-611-9002, hotelcountry.com. Across the road from the exclusive San Isidro golf club, this luxurious pile nestles in the bosom of the Peruvian elite. Doubles start at €180 and go all the way up to €550 a night.
Eat
Value:Wa Lok, Jirón Paruro 864, Barrio Chino. Restaurants serving chifa – Peru's spicier take on traditional Chinese food – are cheap, typically delicious and everywhere. In the heart of Chinatown, Wa Lok opens early to serve dim sum breakfasts to families speaking a rapid-fire mixture of Chinese and Spanish.
Mid-market:El Muelle, Alfonso Ugarte 225, Barranco. This popular afternoon seafood spot finds local hipsters squeezing in beside old ladies polishing off platters of seafood and rice. Like most traditional cevicherías it closes around 5pm, but the neighbourhood will not leave you short of later dining options.
Upmarket:Rafael, San Martin 300, Miraflores, rafaelosterling.com. Rafael Osterling is one of the new generation of "novoandina" chefs whose invention is turning them into stars across Latin America. To see why, visit his discreet eponymous restaurant.
Shop spot
To browse the best in contemporary Peruvian arts and crafts head for Las Pallas (Cajamarca 212, laspallas.com) and Dedálo (Paseo Saénz Peña 295, dedaloarte.blogspot.com), both in Barranco.
Night spot
Bar hop in Barranco, where you’ll find local institution La Noche (Bolognesi 307, lanoche.com.pe), which has live music, theatre and art exhibitions. Somewhat trendier is Ayahuasca, which is devoted to all things pisco (Prolongacion San Martin 130, ayahuascabar.com).
Get there:LAN (lan.com) and Iberia (iberia.com) have direct daily flights from Madrid to Lima. KLM (klm.com) and Air France (airfrance.com) fly from Amsterdam and Paris.