Are you planning a trip to Peru and are wondering how many days in Lima you need? As a local, in this post I suggest you the must-do activities and areas you should visit in Lima depending on how long you are staying in Peru.
Are you organizing your Lima itinerary?
Check out the best tours and activities in Lima:
1. Lima highlights tour (perfect if you have just one day in Lima)
2. Hop-on hop-off Miraflores bus
3. Surfing class and cycling tour around Miraflores
4. Food tour in Lima (I have joined this tour and I totally recommend it!)
5. Cooking class and local market visit
6. Swimming with sea lionsSurf and Cycle in Miraflores
If you’re arriving by plane, Lima, the capital of Peru, will be your first destination. So you have to pass through Lima before you visit other places in the country. Many people skip it and go directly to Cusco or other cities, but I highly recommend you to stay at least for a day if you have the time. Lima is completely worth a visit!
Lima is a very big city (with more than 10 million inhabitants!) and has lots of things to see and do. The main areas you should explore are the historic center, Miraflores and Barranco.
The number of days you should spend in Lima depends on the overall length of your trip. Let’s take a look into this in more detail, and the suggested Lima itinerary for every number of days that you should stay.
How many days in Lima are enough if you have one week in Peru?
If you only have a week in Peru, then one full day in Lima is enough. While Lima is a city with many things to see and do, other highlights of Peru, such as Cusco and Machu Picchu will require most of your time.
Let’s take a look at what you should visit if you have 1 day in Lima.
1-day Lima itinerary
If you only have one day in Lima, make sure to visit the historic center in the morning. Walk between San Martin square and the main square. One of the bucket list Lima activities is to visit San Francisco church and its catacombs, if you are up for something different!
In the afternoon, you can walk around and explore Miraflores. One of the best areas to walk around in Miraflores is the Kennedy Park, which is considered the center of Miraflores. The park is a very lively area, unique for the amount of cats that you can find there. It’s surrounded by shops, restaurants and bars.
You can also walk along the boardwalk (the malecón), and visit Parque del Amor (The Park of Love), and Larcomar, an open-air shopping mall on a cliff.
Later, head Barranco, the bohemian neighborhood of Lima. In Barranco, you can stroll around the main square. Make sure to visit the Bridge of Sighs, an old-wooden bridge that lies at the heart of the neighborhood.
Admire the colorful mural art that gives life to the streets and the maybe stop at a rooftop bar near the Bridge to enjoy a drink overlooking the sea.
Finish your day in Lima having dinner at one of the amazing restaurants you can find in the city (and many are in Barranco).
If you are up for a gourmet meal, I suggest Central (the #1 restaurant in the world as of 2024, but you have to book several months in advance). Otherwise, try Isolina for some great traditional Peruvian food.
How many days in Lima are enough if you have two weeks in Peru?
If you have two weeks to spend in Peru, I recommend you to spend two days in Lima. Here’s what you should do in these 2 days in Lima:
Day 1 in Lima (of a 2 day Lima itinerary)
On day 1, you could visit the historic center in the morning. Like mentioned above, walk around the main square and San Martin square. Visit San Francisco church and its catacombs.
And if you want to visit another old church that is very close by, I recommend Santo Domingo, from where you can walk up to the tower and get a great view of the city on a clear day.
For lunch, you can head to Larco Museum, which has a great restaurant of traditional Peruvian food. After lunch, visit the museum. It’s a collection of pottery of the old Moche civilization (they were before the Incas), who specialized in erotic pottery!
In the afternoon, head to Miraflores, visit Kennedy Park, walk around the boardwalk (the malecón). You can also visit Larcomar, an open-air shopping mall on a cliff overlooking the sea. Read this post to find more ideas of what to do in Miraflores.
Have dinner at one of Lima’s best restaurants. If you are in Larcomar, I recommend eating at Tanta, a restaurant owned by Gaston Acurio, the most popular Peruvian chef.
Day 2 in Lima (of a 2 day Lima itinerary)
On day 2 of your Lima itinerary, visit Huaca Pucllana in the morning, ancient archaeological site right in the heart of Miraflores.
You can have lunch at the restaurant in the Huaca and try typical food and some popular Peruvian drinks such as pisco sour or chicha morada.
In the afternoon, walk around Barranco. You can either go walking from Miraflores (a 30 minutes walk) or take a taxi. Barranco is one of the nicest areas of Lima. Its streets are lined with old mansions, colorful street art and bars.
In Barranco, you can visit the Bridge of Sighs and the Bajada de Baños, the pathway that leads to down to the sea. There are many good cafes in Barranco, that can make for a great afternoon stop.
You can have dinner at Isolina, for some delicious traditional food in an old-style restaurant. Or if you are up for a very fancy dinner, book a table at Central.
You can also take a look at this post for more ideas on what to do in Barranco.
How many days in Lima are enough if you have three weeks in Peru?
If you have three weeks in Peru, then I suggest spending three days in Lima. Let’s take a look at what to do in this 3 days in Lima:
For your 3 day itinerary in Lima I would suggest doing the same things recommended for days 1 and 2 on your first two days.
Day 3 in Lima (of a 3 day Lima itinerary)
Then, on the morning of day 3 of your itinerary in Lima, I recommend you to take either take a food tour or a cooking class.
Did you know that Peru is one of the world’s top culinary destinations? Actually, in Lima you can find several of the top 50 restaurants in the world.
If you’ re interested in doing a food tour in Lima, here you can read my review of one of the top-rated food tours in Lima. The tour takes you around Lima, with stops at fantastic cafes, markets, and restaurants. Highlights include a short cebiche cooking class, a pisco tasting and an exceptional lunch overlooking ancient ruins in the middle of the city. They cater for vegetarians as well. You can book this Lima food tour here.
Alternatively, opting for booking a cooking class offers another fantastic way to try delicious, traditional Peruvian cuisine. The experience begins with a tour of a local market to discover various local fruits and herbs essential to Peruvian dishes. Following the market visit, the cooking class takes place, complete with a vegetarian Peruvian food option for those interested.
You can either decide to have an easy afternoon or do something adventurous like going paragliding! Paragliding is a very popular activity among travelers. The flights depart from Miraflores or San Miguel neighborhoods and you get to overfly the coast.
In the evening of your third day in Lima, head to Parque de las Aguas, a park near Lima center with several water fountains in different shapes and sizes. It’s a super fun activity to include in your itinerary.
In the evenings, from 7:15pm, they do really nice multimedia shows, with lights, videos and the water from the fountains.
How many days in Lima are enough if you have one month in Peru?
If you have one month in Peru, 4 or more days in Lima can be a good amount of time.
Besides doing what was suggested for the first 3 days, let’s see what you can do on days 4 and beyond.
Day 4 in Lima (of a 4 day Lima itinerary)
On the morning of day 4, I recommend you doing one of the most unforgettable activities you will do in Peru. Swimming with sea lions! There are tours that depart from the Callao area and take you on a boat from where you will see some wildlife and birds at nearby islands (from the boat).
After that, the boat takes you to an area where the sea lions usually swim. You can get to swim among them, if they want to come close to you (which they usually do).
I know of several people who considered this a big highlight in their trip to Peru, so you should give it a try!
The tour finishes in the afternoon. After that, you can have an easy rest of your day. Here you can book the swimming with sea lions tour.
Days 5-6 (and longer stays)
If you stay in the city for a longer time, a good idea will be to go on a weekend or day trip from Lima.
There are several options to choose from depending on what you want to do.
My favorite two-day trip is Marcahuasi, in the mountains. The landscapes are really beautiful, though it gets very cold at night, and you have to camp.
Otherwise, consider going visiting Paracas and sandboarding and dune-buggying in Huacachina, two very popular destinations south of Lima.
Before You Go…
As you plan your Peruvian adventure, remember to make out enough time to embrace all that Lima has to offer. After all, the number of days you spend here will undoubtedly enrich your overall experience of this beautiful country.
If you are planning to visit other parts of Peru besides Lima, take a look at these Peru itineraries for 7, 14 and 21 days in Peru, for more ideas of what to do in the country.
