One Day in Lima, Perú: The Ultimate Lima Itinerary

If you’re planning a trip to Peru, a layover in Lima is probably in the cards. And while you could just stay in the airport, I recommend spending one day in Lima to discover all that Peru’s colorful capital city has to offer.

You may have heard that Lima pales in comparison to the rest of Peru. That it’s dangerous. And that there’s a lot you won’t like about the city (like the traffic!). And, while all of that is true, there’s also a lot to love. If you give Lima a chance, I know you’ll agree with me!

1 day in Lima will be the perfect whirlwind introduction to your trip. You’ll have just enough time to see the city’s historic sites, experience a traditional market, sip on a Pisco sour, and dine at one of the world’s top restaurants! The food here is unreal.

And then, you’ll be off to explore Cusco, Machu Picchu, Paracas, and beyond.

There’s a lot to pack into just 24 hours in Lima. This guide covers the best things to do in Lima, plus everything you need to know for a successful and safe trip.

One Day in Lima: Quick Picks & Tips

Best Tours & Experiences In Lima:

• Full-day guided tour of Lima – 8 stops including lunch!
• Half-day guided tour – discover the historic center and visit the catacombs
• Ultimate Peruvian Food Tour – visit 6+ traditional eateries
• Markets & Peruvian food walking tour – my personal favorite!
• Dine at one of the best restaurants in the Lima

Where to Stay in Lima:

• Dazzler Lima ($$) – centrally located, rooftop pool, and super helpful hotel staff
• Wyndham Grand Lima Airport Hotel ($$) – comfortable hotel at New Jorge Chávez Airport

best Day Trip from Lima:

• Day trip to Paracas and Huacachina – includes a boat tour, dune buggy rides, and sandboarding!

Lima Travel & Safety Advice:

• Book a hotel in Miraflores or Barranco
• Stay vigilant for pickpocketing and phone theft
• Only use app-based taxis or hotel-arranged transportation
• Take extra care after dark

Discover Coastal Peruvian Food on a Foodie Tour

Trying out coastal Peruvian cuisine should be one of your top priorities in Peru. From ceviche and lomo saltado, to jalea limeña, conchas negras, and tiradito, there are so many traditional Limeño dishes to try.

To focus on food during your 24 hours in Lima, consider booking a foodie tour that will show you a fun and delicious time exploring Peru’s capital city! After all, traditional Peruvian food is one of the most delicious and underrated cuisines in the world.

I recommend booking this four-hour Lima Colors and Flavors Walking Tour, which guides you off the typical tourist path in Barranco and through to the fishing village of Chorrillos. This top-rated tour shares an authentic experience of Lima’s flavors, sights, history, and arts – the perfect way to explore the city!

Morning: Centro Histórico & Plaza de Armas

The Plaza de Armas is the heart of Lima, located smack in the middle of the city’s historic center, also known as the Centro Histórico. For first-time visitors, the Plaza de Armas (Lima’s main square) is a good place to start exploring the city.

Use a ride-hail app, or pre-arranged taxi, to the Plaza de Armas and take it in. Enjoy being amongst the beautiful colonial architecture, street vendors, and bustling crowds. This is the perfect place to start understanding what Lima’s all about.

Visit the Basilica Cathedral of Lima

While you’re there, pop into the Roman Catholic Basilica Cathedral of Lima. First constructed between 1535 and 1649, this historic landmark’s façade is absolutely stunning and dripping with history. And just as interestingly, the crypt of Francisco Pizarro (the Spanish conquistador who led to the Spanish conquest of Peru) lies inside. There is a lot of history here, so take a guided tour if you have time!

From the Plaza, continue to roam around the streets of the Centro Histórico for a bit. Explore the shops, marvel at the colorful colonial architecture, and soak in the sights, sounds, and smells of Lima.

Maddy’s Safety Tip: Make sure to visit the Centro Histórico (Historic Center of Lima) during the daytime! After sundown, this neighborhood is generally unsafe, and tourists still in the area will likely become the targets of robberies and other crimes.

See the Basílica y Convento de San Francisco

Just a few minutes walk from La Plaza de Armas (and still within the historic center), you’ll find the beautiful Basílica y Convento de San Francisco.

This gorgeous church and monastery are a must-visit… Especially for the spooky catacombs that lie underneath the church!

Your admission includes a guided tour that will take you through the monastery’s intricately decorated church, its many rooms and corridors, and lastly, the dimly lit catacombs strewn with centuries-old human bones.

The Iglesia y Convento de San Francisco was a highlight of our trip to Lima, and I highly recommend it!

Traditional Peruvian Lunch in Miraflores

When it’s time to have a delicious lunch in Lima, La Lucha Sanguchería Criolla is the place to go… The long line of people waiting in line will be a pretty good indicator too!

This place, located in Miraflores next to the Parque Kennedy (John F. Kennedy Park), serves up the most mouthwatering sandwiches, the best French fries in all of Peru (seriously!), and freshly squeezed juices.

This is one of the top places to eat in Lima – among locals and tourists alike – and you’re going to love it.

Afternoon: Miraflores and Barranco Neighborhoods

Miraflores and Barranco are two of the best neighborhoods to explore in Lima. Especially on a beautiful, sunny day. Both areas are relatively safe for travelers on foot and offer endless things to do.

Miraflores is a chic, upscale, bustling neighborhood with great shopping venues, trendy bars and restaurants, gorgeous parks to enjoy the sunshine, and the Miraflores Boardwalk to stroll and take in views of the Pacific Ocean! (As I mentioned before, I recommend staying in Miraflores – specifically at the Dazzler Lima. Click here to find awesome accommodation hotel deals in Miraflores!)

Continue walking south, and you’ll find Barranco: Lima’s hip district, offering amazing art galleries, colorful colonial architecture, stylish restaurants and bars, bumping discotecas (nightclubs), and boutique shopping areas. This neighborhood is definitely worth a visit if you can squeeze it in. Find great deals on Barranco accommodations here!

This is my favorite and a top-rated foodie and art tour of Barranco: Lima Colors and Flavors Walking Tour!

Visit Huaca Pucllana

Smack in the middle of Miraflores, you’ll find Huaca Pucllana, a stark contrast between modern-day Lima’s skyscrapers and what the region was like centuries ago.

Huaca Pucllana is an ancient pre-Incan adobe and clay pyramid complex, built by members of the Lima culture in 500 AD/CE. The Lima culture was an indigenous coastal civilization that existed in the area from roughly 100 AD/CE to AD/650 CE.

It’s incredible to experience history on this scale in the middle of a booming metropolis. Tickets only cost a few dollars, and fascinating guided tours (included with your ticket) run every 30 minutes.

This goes without saying, but Huaca Pucllana is a must-visit if you have an hour to spare!

MADDY’S TIP: You can also take a day tour of Lima, which includes a stop at Huaca Pucllana, El Parque del Amor, and Plaza San Martin. The tour covers many of the places I recommend.

Browse Mercado N°1 de Surquillo

If you want to truly experience Peru’s culture, then head to Surquillo Market (Mercado N°1 de Surquillo) near Miraflores, in a neighborhood called Surquillo..

Markets are where life happens. Where children, parents, and grandparents all congregate to spend time, exchange conversation, smiles, laughs, and hard-earned cash to buy the traditional ingredients and foods that their families have been eating for centuries.

The Mercado N°1 de Surquillo is no different. If you want to see life in Lima unfold, and discover exotic fruits, ingredients, dishes, and customs you’ve never experienced before, then this is the place for you.

No, this market is not very clean. And no, it doesn’t smell very pleasant, either. But it makes up for that in friendly locals, bright colors, and vibrant Limeña culture.

MADDY’S TIP: Skip visiting the Surquillo Market if you’re doing this Lima food & market tour!

Try a Pisco Sour

The Pisco sour is Peru’s national drink, so of course, you should try at least one during your trip to Peru. Why not have one to celebrate your first day in Peru?

The Pisco sour is made up of Pisco (a type of brandy produced in Peru’s winemaking region) as well as lime juice, simple syrup, egg whites, Angostura bitters, and ice.

This cocktail is so refreshing after (or during!) a long day of exploring bustling Lima, so there’s almost no way you won’t love it. I tried my first Pisco sour from a balcony bar in the Plaza de Armas (which I recommend doing!), but you can obviously sip on one anywhere.

Evening: Experience One of Lima’s Top Restaurants

And now for the grand finale! Lima is home to a slew of some of the most prestigious restaurants in the world. Yes, in the whole world.

If you leave Lima without dining at one of these incredible restaurants, you will regret it!

At the time of updating this post (October 2026), here are the rankings, according to The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list:

• Maido (#1 in the world)
• Kjolle (#9 in the world)
• Mérito (#26 in the world)
• Mayta (#39 in the world)

And then there’s Central, which was named the world’s #1 restaurant in 2023 and is now part of the prestigious “Best of the Best” Restaurants in the World.

Before I went to Lima, I knew I wanted to dine at Astrid y Gastón, so I made a reservation about a month in advance. (At the time of my visit, the restaurant was ranked #14 in the world.)

We enjoyed the chef’s tasting menu with wine pairings, which consisted of 13 beautiful courses of modern Peruvian fare. Every dish was a stunning work of art, but somehow tasted even better than it looked. From the 300-year-old hacienda setting and elegant, yet relaxed ambiance, to the beautifully composed dishes and perfectly paired wines, our 3-hour dining experience at Astrid y Gastón is one I’ll never forget.

MADDY’S TIP: Whichever restaurant you choose, make a reservation well in advance! These are some of the best restaurants in the world, and you will miss out if you don’t book.

Where to Stay in Lima

Even though you’re only spending a day in Lima, it’s important to choose where you stay wisely.

Generally speaking, Lima is NOT a safe city. So when it comes to accommodation, you should stick to Lima’s more safe, upscale, and tourist-friendly neighborhoods: Miraflores, Barranco, or San Isidro.

To get the most out of your time in Lima, I recommend staying in Miraflores. Not only is Miraflores one of Lima’s safest neighborhoods, but it’s also home to some of Lima’s greatest restaurants and cafés, shopping, bustling streets, many beautiful outdoor parks, and panoramic ocean views.

I stayed at Dazzler Lima and I cannot recommend this hotel enough! It’s affordable, clean, centrally located, the hotel staff is super friendly and accommodating, and there’s even a rooftop pool!

How to Get Around Lima: Important Tips

The best ways to explore Lima is with hotel-arranged transport or app-based ride-hailing services (in Lima they use Uber, Cabify, and DiDi.)

Lima is a sprawling metropolis, and to discover the best of everything in just 24 hours, you’re going to need to cover a lot of ground.

You will need to get transport between the Historic Center, Miraflores and Barranco neighborhoods. Once you’re in each neighborhood, most of the sights are walkable.

Avoid hailing random cabs off the street. Taxis are totally unregulated by the government in Peru, and because pretty much anyone with a vehicle can become a taxi driver, you can easily get yourself into a dangerous situation. Plus, these drivers are notorious for scamming tourists.

MADDY’S NOTE: Lima’s vastness, heavy traffic (the worst I’ve ever experienced the world over!), pollution, and high crime rate all make transversing the capital city time-consuming. So just accept that and factor it into your travel time.

Quick FAQs for 24 Hours in Lima, Peru