Eat a Sandwich Three Presidents AteOrder a butifarra (country ham and salsa criolla on a roll) at Bar Cordano on the corner of Carabaya and Ancash, the dusty 1905 dive next to the Government Palace where nearly every Peruvian president has nursed a pisco. The waiters have seen things.Food & DrinkEasy40 min
Visit Parque Kennedy's Famous City-Funded CatsParque Kennedy in Miraflores is overrun with dozens of stray cats so beloved they have their own nonprofit and city-funded vaccines. Sit on a bench, let one judge you, and accept that you are not the most important thing here.WeirdEasy30 min
Buy a Cure From the Witch MarketDeep inside Gamarra near the train station hides the Mercado de Brujas, where shamans sell palo santo, love soaps, and herbal elixirs for ailments. Buy a cheap good-luck charm and ask what wards off bad decisions.CultureMedium1 hr
Recreate Lima's Official Make-Out StatueAt Parque del Amor on the Miraflores cliffs stands El Beso, a giant sculpture of artist Victor Delfin snogging his wife, born from a municipal longest-kiss contest. Pose beside it on the Gaudi-style mosaic walls covered in cheesy love poems.Photo HuntEasy20 min
Try Emoliente from a Street Cart at Dawn or DuskFind one of the shiny chrome emoliente carts that appear on Lima's avenues at dawn and dusk, and order the gluey, herbal, barley-and-aloe morning brew the vendor mixes by pouring it between two cups. It tastes like a wellness rumor and locals swear by it.Local DetailEasy15 min
Find the Church Nobody FixedLa Ermita in Barranco is an 1700s chapel, supposedly built where fishermen saw a glowing cross in the fog, that has been a ruin since the 1974 quake and never repaired. Stand at its locked gate above the garden and admire Lima's most photogenic act of procrastination.Hidden GemEasy25 min
Hunt the Mural Under the Famous BridgeSkip the breath-holding crowds on the Bridge of Sighs and walk down the Bajada de Banos to find Jade Rivera's mural Hogar de un Suspiro painted right beneath it. The whole walkway is a free open-air gallery the bridge-selfie tourists forget to descend into.Photo HuntEasy35 min
Fight Bees for a Sweet Potato DonutAt Picarones Mary, a tiny stall in Parque Kennedy, the fryer turns rings of squash-and-sweet-potato dough golden and drowns them in chancaca syrup so good the bees show up too. Eat them hot, defend your plate with honor.Food & DrinkEasy20 min
Eat Ceviche Where the Chefs ShopHead into Mercado No 1 de Surquillo, the market Lima's top kitchens raid at dawn, and find the back food stalls where vendors build a plate of ceviche on the spot for pocket change. Go early, before the sellers and the fish get tired.Food & DrinkMedium50 min
Watch Paragliders Launch Off the Miraflores CliffsPark yourself on the grass at Parque Raimondi on the Malecon, beside the Parapuerto kiosk, where paragliders launch straight off the 80-meter Miraflores cliff over the highway. Cheer the brave ones, sip your drink, and keep both feet firmly on land.ActiveEasy40 min
Dawn run along the Malecón cliffsLace up before the fog lifts and join Lima's joggers on the clifftop path through the Malecón de Miraflores, where the Pacific breaks far below. Run from Parque del Amor toward Larcomar and let the sea breeze do the motivating.ActiveMedium45 min
Ride the Ciclovía Along Lima's Costa Verde CliffsRent a bike near Parque Kennedy and roll the traffic-separated red ciclovía that hugs the Costa Verde all the way from Miraflores to Barranco. It's flat, car-free, and the only traffic jam is the occasional surfer crossing to the beach.ActiveEasy1 hr 10 min
Get soaked at the Children's FountainBring a towel and brave the walk-in Fuente de los Niños inside Parque de la Reserva's Circuito Mágico del Agua, the Guinness-record fountain complex. The kids will dart through the jets until everyone is gloriously, predictably drenched.FamilyEasy1 hr
Dare the tunnel of water surprisesAlso in Parque de la Reserva, march the whole family through the 35-metre Fuente Túnel de las Sorpresas and try to time the gap between bursts. Spoiler: you will mistime it, and that is exactly the point.FamilyEasy30 min
Hunt for Pre-Inca Huacas Inside Parque de las LeyendasAt Parque de las Leyendas in San Miguel, challenge the kids to find the genuine pre-Inca huacas hiding between the lion and the monkeys. It's the rare zoo where an ancient pyramid counts as an exhibit.FamilyEasy1 hr 30 min