Evening –
Among Olives and Ruins

As the light fades, Lima’s culinary scene takes the stage.
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 and one of the city’s most beautiful public spaces.

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

For something informal, La Lucha in Miraflores serves classic sandwiches—perfect fuel for a walk along the malecón, the coastal promenade where the Pacific rolls in dark and endless.

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 Miraflores, Sastrería Martínez and Bijou offer intimate bars where the night stretches, unhurried.

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. Here, you’ll find a wide variety of Peruvian dishes—a gateway to the city’s popular culinary wisdom.

If you’re in the mood for something lighter, Core Lima Café, located in the city’s former financial district, offers a softer landing: fresh quinoa salads, tropical juices, and the quiet murmur of office workers on their break.

Afternoon –
Pisco Cocktails at the Grand Old HoteL

Every guide will tell you to take Jirón de la Unión, the pedestrian street connecting Plaza de Armas to Plaza San Martín, the other monumental public square in the Old Town.
We suggest the less obvious Carabaya Street instead.

At Plaza San Martín, the Bolívar Hotel awaits—once the most luxurious venue in the city. It’s also the perfect place to explore local cocktails, even if newer addresses with a similar historic charm —like Casa Tambo or Pancho Fierro Café, just a block away— now offer a more sophisticated and international touch.

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.

Prefer something sweeter? Try Algarrobina cocktail, made from the seeds of a northern Peruvian tree, milk, egg yolk, and cinnamon. It’s a creamy, almost dessert-like creation, deeply rooted in family gatherings and Peruvian warmth.

The old town is noisy, chaotic, at times overwhelming.
Perhaps even a little dangerous in some corners.
And yet—its poetry lives in the way street vendors, new and old markets, and abandoned buildings share the same stage as colonial palaces. Hidden, almost shy, behind heavy wooden doors.

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 with an intricate web of canals. That same logic of control—of water, of 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, fusing worlds into a single facade.

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, a place of quiet grandeur, where art from different centuries shares the same cloister. Climb the bell tower and the old town unfolds around you in shades of terracotta and dust.

Other guides might send you to the San Francisco Convent. We prefer the intimacy of Santo Domingo where art can be appreciated without the pressure of hundreds of tourists moving you along.