Lima Attractions

From the beginning Lima, the city of kings and viceroys, was an oasis of culture and elegance in the American Indies. Just a few decades after its foundation, Lima already rivaled Mexico as the most important metropolis in the Spanish-American empire. Baroque and Renaissance churches, mansions, palaces, universities and archdioceses filled Lima. The cultural scene positively hummed as early as the beginning of the seventeenth century, when Lima had but a population of just 25.000.

The ancient Rímac Valley, "the speaker" in the Quechua language, was originally settled by fishermen and hunter-gatherers, ruled over by a local chieftain, Taulichusco. It was here that on January 15, 1535, Spanish Conqueror Francisco Pizarro founded the city of Lima. In less than 70 years, Lima was to concentrate all the power and wealth of all trade and cultural activity in the Vice-regency: it had become, in effect, the most important city in the Americas.

In the eighteenth century, Lima fell into decadence and instability due mainly to the creation of the Vice-regency of Río de la Plata, who took over the great mines of Alto Perú (now Bolivia). Things came to a head in 1821, when Peru declared its independence as a Republic. At the start of the twentieth century, during la Belle Epoque (1915-30), the city enjoyed a privileged position once more as one of the most modern cities on the continent.

In the 1940s, as growing waves of migrants left the countryside bound for Lima, the capital became a miniature replica of the country itself, -a melting pot of people and cultures. Today, with a population of 6.5 million, Lima is home to a quarter of the country's population and nearly two-thirds of Peru's economic and industrial activity.

More than 460 years have passed since its founding as a Spanish city, and Lima today has become synonym of Peru's mestizo or mixed-blood heritage, one that baffles those in the know and first-time visitors alike. In fact, this quandary is one of Lima's greatest features. This alchemy of influences is most clearly seen in the city's innovative cuisine, which gourmets rate as one of the world's finest. UNESCO meanwhile, ranks Lima's architecture as a world heritage site, while the city's inhabitants, fun-loving and skilful, have become experts at adapting to change. Furthermore, Lima offers tourists superb museums, dozens of art galleries, theatre productions and every kind of top-notch cultural exhibition, modern shopping malls and recreational areas, in addition to archaeological and natural attractions.

Source: Lima, the City of Kings and its surrounding areas. A traveler's guide, by Promperú.