Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
reserve through the
Office of Public Relations
( 311-3900;
www.presidencia.gob.pe
;
8:30am-1pm & 2:30-5:30pm Mon-Fri)
. The web page offers a virtual tour (click on
'Visita Virtual') showing the building's lavish interiors.
LIMA IN…
Two Days
Start with a walking tour of the city's colonial heart. For lunch, try the historic
El Cordano
(
Click here
)
or the
lovely
Domus
(
Click here
)
. Afterwards, view the Chancay pottery inside a pristine historic mansion at the
Museo Andrés del Castillo
(
Click here
) and end the day with a most important pilgrimage: a pisco sour at
El
Bolivarcito
(
Click here
)
, the renowned bar inside the Gran Hotel Bolivar.
On the second day, you can go pre-Columbian or contemporary: view breathtaking Moche pottery at the
Museo
Larco
(
Click here
)
or see a gripping exhibit on the Internal Conflict at the
Museo de la Nación
(
Click here
)
. In
the afternoon, grab an espresso from
Café Bisetti
(
Click here
)
and stroll through the clifftop gardens of
Bar-
ranco
(
Click here
)
; you could also visit
Huaca Pucllana
(
Click here
)
, the centuries-old adobe temple in the
middle of Miraflores. Spend the evening sampling
novoandina
cuisine at one of the city's many fine restaurants.
Three Days
Seeking something colonial? In the morning, visit the exquisite
Museo Pedro de Osma
(
Click here
)
in Barranco
to view some of the most intriguing Cuzco School canvases and an abundance of relics from the days of the vice-
royalty. Otherwise, make the day trip to
Pachacamac
(
Click here
) to stand amid arid ruins dating back almost
two millennia. Spend the afternoon haggling for crafts at the
Mercado Indio
(
Click here
)
in Miraflores.
La Catedral de Lima
( 427-9647; museum S10; 9am-5pm Mon-Fri, 10am-1pm Sat)
Next to the Arch-
bishop's palace, the cathedral resides on the plot of land that Pizarro designated for the
city's first church in 1535. Though it retains a baroque facade, the building has been built
and rebuilt numerous times: in 1551, in 1622 and after the earthquakes of 1687 and 1746.
The last major restoration was in 1940.
A craze for all things neoclassical in the late 18th century left much of the interior (and
the interiors of many Lima churches) stripped of its elaborate baroque decor. Even so,
there is plenty to see. The various chapels along the nave display more than a dozen altars
carved in every imaginable style, and the ornate wood
choir
, produced by Pedro de
Noguera in the early 17th century, is a masterpiece of rococo sculpture. A
museum
, in
the rear, features paintings, vestments and an intricate sacristy.
CATHEDRAL
