From once powerful Incan empires to some of today’s best museums and skyscrapers, Lima is the address of a glorious past and present. More than just the capital, Lima is the walking encyclopedia of Peru and all the cultures that thrive on it. Its hodgepodge of people left cultural markers from corner to corner, making Lima win a special place in the world as a premiere destination to shop for culinary diversity and architectural styles.
Built over the former commune of the pre-Incan tribe Ichma, “Lima” is an offshoot of the Quechua word Limaq (talker). As the city’s name suggests, Lima’s food and architecture speak volumes of the place’s complex mix of racial and ethnic groups. This city, the 27th most populous in the world, is a salad of influences from the Mestizos (European-Indian mix), Europeans, Middle Easterners, Asians and Afro-Peruvians.
Shifts between the city’s history can be gleaned in the various architectural trends of its Historic Center, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988. Early colonial structures like the Monastery of San Francisco, the Cathedral, Palace of Torre Tagle, and the Plaza Mayor, where Francisco Pizarro founded Lima in January 18, 1535, are examples of Spanish Baroque, Neoclassicism, and Colonial styles. After independence, the buildings in the metropolitan area, one of the ten largest in the Americas, took a gradual move towards French Neoclassicism and Art Nouveau.
In the ‘60s, Juan Velasco’s military government introduced the brutalist style into edifices, as embodied by the Museum of the Nation and the Ministry of Defense. At the peep of the 21st century, glass skyscrapers affirmed Lima’s rank as Latin America’s fifth largest city. In the middle of all these construction fuss is the world’s biggest fountain complex, the Magical Circuit of Water.
Lima also has Peru’s lion’s share in museums, which mostly focus on art, history, science and religion. Some of the most important are the National Museum of the Archaeology, Anthropology, and History of Peru; Museum of Art of Lima, Museum of Natural History, and the Museum of Gold.
In the field of gastronomy, Lima observes the culinary traditions of the Andean, Spanish and Asian. The recipes’ diversity and quality has reaped honors in the Guinness World Records, including the title “Gastronomical Capital of the Americas.” Some of the most popular digs are in Calle Capon, South America’s largest Chinese community, where ubiquitous Chifa restaurants offer a floor-sitting experience of Chinese cuisine with a Peruvian spin.
Edit this article
