Plaza San Martín is a grand, historic square in central Lima, inaugurated in 1921 to celebrate Peru’s independence. At its center stands a bronze statue of General José de San Martín. Surrounded by elegant neoclassical buildings, such as the Gran Hotel Bolívar, the plaza is a lively hub that blends colonial charm with early 20th-century architecture, making it a key landmark in Lima.
The San Francisco Convent is a striking example of colonial Baroque architecture in Lima, known for its ornate facade and rich history. Inside, the convent houses a vast library and impressive religious art. Its most famous feature is the underground catacombs, once used as a burial site. These catacombs contain the remains of an estimated 25,000 people, making them a unique and eerie glimpse into Lima’s past, offering visitors a fascinating journey into the city’s colonial and religious heritage.
We will stop to enjoy a delicious Peruvian churro.
The main square of Peru's capital, home to the Cathedral of Lima and the Government Palace, and nearby Santo Domingo Convent.
We will pas by Huaca Pucllana, an ancient pre-Inca archaeological site located in the heart of modern Lima. Built around 500 AD by the Lima culture, it consists of a large adobe pyramid made from small, handmade bricks. The site served as an important ceremonial and administrative center. Today, Huaca Pucllana offers a unique contrast between ancient history and the surrounding urban landscape, providing insight into the early civilizations that once thrived along Peru’s central coast.
Parque del Amor, or the Park of Love, is a scenic spot in Miraflores overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Known for its vibrant mosaics and romantic sculptures, including the iconic statue *El Beso* (The Kiss) by Víctor Delfín, the park is a popular destination for couples. Its curving walls, adorned with colorful tiles and love-themed quotes, create a whimsical atmosphere. The park’s clifftop location offers stunning ocean views, making it a perfect place to relax and enjoy Lima’s coastline.
Enjoy scenic views over the Pacific Ocean
Valeria was our guide and she was awesome! She was very friendly and answered all our questions. I learned so much, and we were able to experience a lot of really cool things in a relatively short period of time. I would definitely recommend this tour to others!
My wife and I were in Lima and we wanted to take a half day historical center tour. We asked Gemini and this tour showed up as one of the links. We booked with Exquisito directly. We walked to the meeting place in Miraflores and ot was not far from our hotel. Our guide Valeria greeted us. Other people on the tour did not show up so this became a private tour. Valeria showed up the interesting places along the way took us the walking tour, and told us other interesting spots to visit after the tour. Everything went perfectly and I would definitely recommend this tour.
We had a tour with Valeria. It was really nice and she did really well. Thanks to her for making Lima a nice time. Just make sure to double check recommendations as I paid way to much for the recommended sim shop. Other than that. Perfect. Gracias Valeria.
Valeria did a great job of giving us the historical information and showing us key points of interest. Plus she found us some churros because of some delayed flights, so that was a great treat.
Valerie was great and made us feel very comfortable and was super knowledgeable about the history and building we visited! The transportation was comfortable and felt safe!
We had a wonderful tour of Lima. We saw all the main highlights and got so much historical perspective. We would never have learned so much on our own. Sheila was a fabulous guide, so knowledgeable and friendly! Highly recommended
Very practical meeting point in Miraflores from where the operator takes you on a 3h30 tour around the Hsitoric Center and Mireflores. The guide Valeria was super nice and the tour well designed. Highly recommend! Oh and there's churros!
It was my first time in Lima and we had only one day. Valeria was aou guide and she was extremely knowledgeable and kind and engaging and made us appreciate the city in just 4 hours.
David was excellent. Very knowledgeable and personable. First time in Peru. Great introduction to Lima and very much appreciated. He even bought us churros, which were wonderful and not like the ones we’ve had in the US. His driver was also excellent in navigating the insanity of Lima traffic. The drivers in Peru make those in Italy and Albania seem like Sunday drivers in the US.
We had such a wonderful time on our tour of Lima! Our guide, Valeria, was absolutely fantastic, so knowledgeable, friendly, and full of energy. She made the entire experience feel personal and engaging, sharing interesting history and local insights that we never would have learned on our own. She went above and beyond to make sure we were comfortable and enjoying every moment. You can tell she truly loves what she does, and it made a huge difference in our experience. Our driver was also great, everything ran smoothly and stress-free. This was one of the highlights of our trip, and I would highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting Lima. If you get Valeria as your guide, you’re in for an unforgettable experience!
Great private tour of Lima. Valeria is very knowledgeable and has a great personality! We really enjoyed spending time with her and our driver, and visiting the highlights of Lima.
Sheyla is the coolest and most brilliant guide! Loved the tour!
Nice tour to get an overview of the city but too much time in traffic. Guide Aura was great, full of knowledge and super personality.
Vale provided me with a fabulous tour of the Lima’s cultural City Center as well as parts of the Miraflores neighborhood. I really enjoyed the architecture and energy in the heart of the city.
The view and sightseeing was amazing, with our selfless tour guide, Sheila explaining every area. It was very fun and she even treated us to churros!
I went on a half day tour in Lima Peru and I had a young women as guide her name is Valerie. Het english is verry good. I can recommend her
Sheyla is such a wonderful, kind and knowledgeable tour guide! I learned so much from her and saw so many amazing things! (and I had so much fun too)! If you are in Lima I would do this excursion 100%!!! You will be so happy that you did, I know I am so glad that I did! And feel so lucky that I had such a friendly tour guide!! 10 out of 10!!!! Thank you so much!
Valeria is extremely informative, helpful, comical and helpful. She made suggestions, told us a lot of history, helped us with getting affordable and preferencial prices. I had a phenomenal experience. She is a very personable guide!
Our tour guide, Valeria, was punctual, friendly and very knowledgeable! The tour covered several spots in Lima that are rich in culture and history. It was definitely a worthwhile experience. The churros were delicious !!! 🙂
My husband and I were shown around by Valeria in Lima. In just half a day, she managed to give us an individual tour, including the two main squares in Lima, a hotel we wished we'd booked for ourselves, a church/monastery turned into a museum, we visited the pre-inca pyramid (which was not originally planned!) and finally we were taken to a small but beautiful park close to the beach. Valeria is a very knowledgeable and enthusiastic guide, and we very much enjoyed the tour and learned a lot.
Valeria’s Barranco food tour was delightful! It was so much fun to stroll through the district with a local who knows her city and its food. We particularly enjoyed tasting Peruvian fruits and chocolate. The demonstration of how to make Loma Saltaldo, and then eating it, was amazing. The Pisco sour in Barranco’s oldest bar capped a memorable evening. Valaria is smart, charming and a great guide with deep knowledge of Peruvian culture and values. She is a gem.
We had a wonderful tour in n Lima with Valeria as our guide. She picked us up from our hotel in Miraflores and we had a lovely and informative walk through the Historical City Center, followed by a visit to Huaca Pucllana, and then Parque del Amor. Would highly recommend.
Valeria was an incredible guide! She was warm, knowledgeable, and passionate about sharing the history and culture with us. She made the tour engaging, fun, and personal — from great stories to thoughtful tips. Highly recommend booking with Valeria!
We only had a day in Lima and this was a great way to spend the afternoon. There's so much to see and do in Lima and this tour gave a good overview and highlighted a few must-sees. It was good variety and fascinating history, with a surprise sweet treat that was worth the wait. My personal favourites were the brief stop at the clay pyramid and the tour of the catacombs underneathe the basilica. Our tour guide Valeria was really awesome. Very friendly, knowledgeable and a pleasure to walk around with. I highly recommend her, hit her up!
Our guide, Valeria, met us on time and gave us an excellent private tour. We saw all sites promised on the tour and Valeria was very knowledgeable of all the features of each site. The San Francisco catacombs was a highlight and the surprise sweet treat, a feature of the tour, is definitely worth the hype! All in all, the tour was a great time and Valeria went above and beyond her duties as a guide. 10/10
Manuel was a very knowledgeable guide and we learnt alot. He took the time to answer all of our questions. We had a great time and would definitely recommend going on this tour 👍
The culinary tour was a highlight of our stay in Lima. Aura was wonderful and everything was delicious. Thank you for the great experience!
If you have any hesitation about joining an Exquisito Perú tour, please take my advice and just go! My first trip to Lima and I enjoyed a food tasting tour in Barranco (great fun with an international group of fascinating travelers and a wonderful guide) and then a half day tour of the historic downtown and Miraflores neighborhood in a very small group with wonderful guide, Valeria — she was knowledgeable about every aspect of the trip, historical, cultural, architectural, and aspects of life in Lima, both historical and current day. The combination gave me a great understanding of Perú in a short, fun-filled time. Go!
Sheyla was an amazing tour guide. Really informative and kind. The food was amazing. The pork sandwich, tamales, churros, and picarones were my favorite. I highly recommend this tour.
Shayla was great and we enjoyed hearing more about Peru from her. We went to a few different areas around Lima and even got to try some delicious churros.
This was a really great tour with a very knowledgeable guide. We were picked up and drop off in Miraflores and got to see Lima's most important sights. Great communication before the tour as well. A seamless experience I totally recommend.
The tour was great. The guide was very knowledgeable, friendly and dynamic. The van had air conditionning and was very comfy. Highly recommended tour to discover Lima's top sights.
Marcos was such a great tour guide. We did the full day tour combining the best of Barranco and Central Lima. It was a long (8 hours), but immensely enjoyable day. This tour stands out among other “food tours” we’ve done around the world, because of the way in which Marcos brings together the history and evolving culture of Peru to explain why certain foods became “traditional” dishes and what influences caused new styles of cooking and food prep to emerge. He also pointed out key historical moments that paralleled food trends and gave us quick primers on Peruvian history from pre-Incan, pre-colonial times to present day as complementary context. I’ve been to Lima many times, but this was definitely one of the most informative and fun days I’ve had. I highly recommend this tour. If you can’t do the full day, I’d suggest either half day tour (Barranco or Central Lima) with a slight preference for the Barranco tour if what you’re after is a more contemporary understanding of art and cuisine and the Central Lima tour if you’re after more history. You can’t go wrong.
Our family of three had a wonderful private tour with Ms Dulce through Lima. She was incredibly knowledgeable, striking the perfect balance between engaging historical insights and thoughtful commentary on Peru's modern political landscape. Ms Dulce excelled at adapting the information to make it relevant for our small group. Unlike some guides who stick to rigid scripts, she encouraged our questions and sparked fascinating discussions about everything from ancient Incan traditions to contemporary Peruvian society. Her deep understanding of both Lima's colonial past and its present-day challenges gave us a much richer perspective than we could have gained on our own. She shared illuminating context about Peru's current political situation while expertly connecting it back to the country's historical developments. What impressed us most was how she created an intimate, conversational atmosphere that made complex topics accessible. Rather than just pointing out landmarks, Ms Dulce helped us understand the living, breathing city of Lima through a local's eyes. For any family wanting to truly understand Lima beyond the tourist sites, a tour with Ms Dulce is an excellent choice.
Was very friendly and also managed to tell us a lot of nice stories and also gave tips for the rest of the day.
Valeria is an excellent guide; she is very pleasant and kind.
We made the tour to the historic center of Peru (lime) we were in total 5 people, the guide was very friendly and clear at all times to answer questions, it was a tour in which they let you enjoy the places visited calmly and not running, that seemed excellent. Both the guide and the van driver were very friendly at all times, very good disposition of both.
Our guide Valeria was super friendly, funny, shared a lot of information about Lima and left us enough time a the different places. Your tips for other sights and restaurants were very valuable.
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