Lima is Peru’s capital and most travellers’ first and last stop, usually overnight on either end of a Machu Picchu trip. If you can give it two or three days, do: the food scene is one of the best in South America (ceviche, lomo saltado, anticucho; the headline tasting restaurants Central, Maido and Kjolle all sit in the global top 50), and the colonial centre is a UNESCO site with the Pacific on its doorstep.
Base yourself in Miraflores or Barranco for walkability and safety; the Malecón path along the clifftop between the two neighbourhoods is a 7 km walk with Pacific views and paragliders overhead. Visit the Larco Museum (pre-Columbian ceramics, open evenings), the Huaca Pucllana adobe pyramid in the middle of Miraflores (Inca-era predecessor from the Lima culture, around 400 AD), and the Plaza Mayor in the colonial centre. Public transport is combi buses and the Metropolitano BRT; most tourists use taxis, Beat or InDrive. Watch belongings in the centre and in San Isidro at night. A few phrases of Spanish go a long way.
