Beeing a tourist in Lima

I haven’t been to many South American cities, just Rio, Buenos Aires, Florianopolis and Montevideo so South America is a less traveled region for me. The main reason for that is that it doesn’t feel that safe and especially since my Spanish is very limited. So how was my visit and what things did I do during my two days in the city?

Safety in Lima

When you arrive in Lima the airport is very tiny and old based on the fact that it lives 9 million people in Lima and that people here fly a lot due to the mountainous terrain. Now not everyone is that wealthy that their economy allows them to fly but still. The place is hectic and the surrounding neighborhood really looks like an unsafe area. But I was not staying there. I booked a hotel in Miraflores which is an upscale neighborhood. At the first view when the Uber driver dropped me off at my hotel I was a bit skeptical to walk the streets here. I asked at the hotel if there was any areas around I should avoid and they said it was perfectly fine to walk around here. But it doesn’t look that safe. If crime worse than pickpockets didn’t exist every condo or house wouldn’t be behind fence having security outside and heavily armed police are outside every bank plus security in more or less every corner of the street. But I walked out and I know if I get to an area you should not walk in if it didn’t felt safe I would just get back. But no worries although it look pretty rough. I was perfectly fine walking around in Miraflores and Barranco. The historical center was also fine but it felt very surreal when riot polices were everywhere.

Historical center of Lima

I went to the historical center of Lima. It was a few very beautiful buildings and chaos. Loads of people at the streets. Tourists, business people out for lunch and random people. I was expecting more beggars but it wasn’t that many. After an hour and a half walking around I have had enough.

Barranco

Barranco is the urban neighborhood and I loved it from the beginning. Street art everywhere and chic coffee shops. A bit hipster style. I started with a visit to the Museum of Contemporary art and really liked the cafe in their garden. Then I enjoyed all creative artworks.

Miraflores

The neighborhood where I stayed and where a lot of embassy’s, hotels and hostels are located. The location towards the water is definitely worth a visit. There you can walk, take a scooter or run enjoying the Pacific and stop by for energy. If you are surfing the surfing spots are at the beach on the other side of the highway. There are also many restaurants here and the shopping mall Lacromar that I went to but I just had a coffee and WiFi at Starbucks. If you go to Lima I would recommend to stay here.

Lima is a place you need to see if you go to Peru. One day is enough. Although distances aren’t that far, going 10K in a cab takes you around one hour due to heavy traffic. Questions on that?

/ Pernilla that enjoyed her visit to Lima