Evening –
Among Olives and Ruins

Astrid y Gastón, a pioneer of neo-Andean cuisine, is set in a colonial palace near the Olivar de San Isidro, the oldest olive orchard in the Americas.

The Huaca Pucllana restaurant serves traditional dishes beside a pre-Incan adobe pyramid.

In the other side of the food scene continuum, La Lucha in Miraflores serves classic sandwiches, perfect for a walk along the coastal promenade where the Pacific fades into the night.

If You Don’t Want to Sleep Yet

Lima’s cocktail culture is blossoming. Near Astrid y Gastón, Carnaval and Limaq lead this new creative wave in San Isidro.

In Miraflores, Sastrería Martínez and Bijou offer intimate bars.

Family driven Lady Bee, located in Barranco, is the most acclaimed by the international critics.

Lunch –
Eating by the Wall

For a taste of traditional, home-style cooking, La Muralla sits within a municipal park that preserves the remains of Lima’s colonial wall.

Afternoon –
Pisco Cocktails at the Grand Old HoteL

Instead of taking Jirón de la Unión, the pedestrian street connecting Plaza de Armas to Plaza San Martín, the other monumental public square in the Old Town.
I prefer the less obvious, less crowded, Carabaya Street.

The Bolívar Hotel stands at Plaza San Martín as a relic of the Andean gilded age. Today, young crowds and public servants converge for Pisco Sours. Just a block away, Casa Tambo offers sophisticated spaces set within a restored colonial house.

The Pisco Sour is now a global classic, but the Capitán, a local adaptation of the Manhattan (vermouth and pisco instead of whiskey), is ideal if you enjoy bitter and robust flavors.
Algarrobina cocktail, is a sweeter option made from the seeds of a northern Peruvian tree, milk, egg yolk, and cinnamon. It’s a almost dessert-like creation rooted in the intimacy of Peruvian family gatherings.

The old town is noisy, chaotic, at times overwhelming.
And yet, its poetry lives in the way new and old markets, share the same stage as colonial palaces.

Morning –

Stones, Water, and Power

Lima's valley has been inhabited for over five thousand years.
Long before the Spanish arrived, the Ichma civilization turned the desert into a fertile valley. That same logic of control, of water and space, still shapes the city.

At the Plaza de Armas, political and religious power has been concentrated for almost five centuries.
The Spanish built their Palace and Cathedral directly over pre-Incan foundations.

A short walk from the Plaza de Armas lies the Casa de Aliaga, home to the same family since 1535.
Few guides insist on visiting it, yet it’s one of the most intimate ways to grasp how old and how rich the European presence is in this valley.

A couple steps away you will find the Convent of Santo Domingo. Climb the bell tower and the old town unfolds around you in shades of terracotta and dust.

While almost every guide might send you to the San Francisco Convent. We prefer the intimacy of Santo Domingo where colonial art can be appreciated without the pressure of hundreds of tourists moving you along.