Lima Walking Tour: Historic Center, Market & Monastery

Good to hear the background & history of the area & visit the market (which we would not have done if not on a tour) Great guide.

We had an extensive tour of the monastery and catacombs, and other historical highlights in downtown Lima. Beto’s knowledge of the different time periods in the history of Lima was excellent. Despite many buildings and the San Martin plaza being closed due to the national election, Beto gave us a wonderful overview of a Sunday in downtown Lima, including the local market. It was great to be on a personal tour (only me and my husband) so we could travel at our own pace. Intrepid Urban Adventures set this up for us on short notice and was very communicative about who/when and where.

Pamela was an amazing and knowledgeable tour guide on both Peru’s historic core and the fabulous city places.

Wonderful tour with Pamela. I really enjoyed the mix of history, culture and food. A great way to learn about Lima. We got to try a wide variety of fruit and some delicious deserts.

The church we went at the end of the tour was the best. The tour leader was very knowledgeable about all the places she took us.

Paola was great and very knowledgeable about the history of religion and art. I had a lovely afternoon.

Flying in at 5am, we knew that we wanted to find an activity that would be engaging until we could check into our hotel. We signed up for a 1/2 day tour and met our guide at the preordained time. Pamela was terrific - enthusiastic, thorough, she wanted to ensure that we saw everything we had hoped to see. The tour encompassed both historic places with Pamela filling in the details of Peru’s history and present day sites. This included the central market that houses stalls ranging from fish to chicken to fruits and vegetables. She had us sample several fruits, native corn and also offered for us to try a churro. Lastly, we sampled the Pisco Sour which was fabulous. It was a great time and Pamela was a terrific guide.

Booked this tour as had an extra day in Lima ahead of Intrepid tour. Great way to explore downtown and learn about city's history and try some local bites along the way through the market. I ended up as the only person so felt like a personal tour! Paola was my tour guide and she was fantastic! Very friendly, super knowledgeable with the history and spoke great English. Would highly recommend for those looking to explore Lima! Paola also even waited until my transport arrived to take me back which was a bonus in terms of safety (travelling as a solo female).

Mariano was excellent imparting the history and culture of Lima and Peru. So knowledgeable and so easy to listen to. I fell in love with Lima and didn’t want this tour to end

Kind and knowledgeable tour guide catered the trip to our interests and shared her extensive knowledge of Lima. Best tour ever!

This was a fun way to see Lima. John Paul was very friendly and informative. This tour was amazing and highly recommend it.

We did the Lima street food tour with Paula. And boy was it just amazing to end our Peru trip with a filled tummy! We learnt so much about Peruvian cuisine. We had ChiFa (Chinese-Peruvia), yummy churros, and so many more! Our guide Paula was amazing and very knowledgeable. She looked after us very well. We also learnt a lot about the history of Peru. Thank you Paula for an awesome tour!

We, my husband, me and two friends, booked a walking tour with Urban Adventures for an afternoon walking tour on our one day in Lima. Our guide was Paula, and she was wonderful, very knowledgeable, funny and personable. Her English was great, and she did not only show us interesting sites in the city, including a wonderful market, she also took us on the bus tot the center of the city, and talked about the Peruvian culture, politics etc. It was a wonderful way to learn much about Lima and Peru in a short time, and from a wonderful warm and funny person like Paula.

This was our first trip to Lima and we wanted a tour that would give us an experience of Lima, it’s people and beautiful sites!!! Paula was our wonderful tour guide and she gave us this experience plus much more like all the amazing history, answering all our questions!!! We would highly recommend this tour...ask for Paula!!!

Thanks Paula for a greatDiscovery Tour. Lovely personality, good knowledge with plenty of history to help understand Lima and Peru.

Our guide Gladys shared both history and stories from today about Lima and Peru. A great chance to explore local food and drinks, plenty of opportunities to ask questions! And Convento San Francisco in the end was marvellous! Only improvement opportunities I found is that the guide should wear the Urban Adventure sweatshirt, to make the identification easier at meeting point.

I was lucky enough to be the only person on the tour so I had Gladys' full attention. We took a public bus to Lima's historic center. Gladys provided a thorough overview of the churches and government buildings along with Lima's history. The real highlight was the walk through the central market. This was what I was looking for. After a week with my friends exploring the tourist attractions around the country I wanted to see how everyday Peruvians lived. I wanted to go off the beaten path. There you can find everything for sale from food to dresses to pots and pans to bags. Unlike other markets such as Marrakech, which itself is a tourist attraction, this market had few tourists and was a true instution that locals shopped at. I really appreciated the time and attention that Gladys provided to me. After this tour I felt that my trip to Peru was complete. Thank you!

Paula was our guide in this Lima Discovery tour. She was an excellent guide, full of great insights into the city. We walked through a local market, took a bus to the Plaza de Armes, had a Pisco sour and gelato and gained a great deal of knowledge about the city in the short time that we had. Definitely recommend this tour.

My girlfriend and me took this tour as a part of a bigger package and it wasn't disappointing at all. Our guide Gladis knew a lot about the city and its history. The visit in the catacombs of the monastery was very exciting: lots of real skulls and bones everywhere - scary, but impressive!!

I had a fab time with Giorgio. He is very knowledgeable, friendly, and generous with his time. On this tour you get to see the city's highlights and you learn lots not just about Lima but the country as a whole. I particularly enjoyed visiting the market. Highly recommended.

My husband and I, along with another friend, had a wonderful time with Paula, our tour guide. Very knowledgeable with a great personality. One of the highlights was enjoying a Pisco Sour in the bar where it was first invented. Would definitely recommend this walking tour.

We were staying in the Sheraton Lima and endured an hour taxi ride to meet Paula in Kennedy Park. Just our family booked so it was like a private tour with an expert who gave us a quick context from newspaper/magazine headlines at a kiosk and showed us the “Lima way” to take a 15 minute fast bus back to where we had come from. We asked for a stop at the market in Surquillo to enjoy seeing local fruits and vegetables. Paula did not rush us but time went quickly with so much to see in the historical centre. I highly recommend the tour as an intro to Lima and ask for Paula as a guide who is informative and fun.

Gladys was so friendly and gave us a wonderful insight into Lima’s culture and history! Would definitely recommend for anyone wanting a small, personalised and local experience of Lima.

Had a fantastic day tour together with Paula. I learned a lot about the Peruvian culture, the Lima city life and the delicious food. Thanks for this day Paula, hope see you sometimes again.

This tour allows for people based in and around the more "toursity" areas of Miraflores to visit the main square and surrounds of Lima. Our guide, Paula was very knowledgeable of Lima's architecture, history and culture and her offer to take photos was very much appreciated. The tour involves not only the main square but also the Church of San Francisco where you will see the macarbe catacombs. The tour finishes with a well-received Pisco Sour. Keep in mind you are at the mercy of public transport for this tour so be sure to not have any reservations immediately after the tour as you may miss a bus or two due to the crowds. Also you'll have to pay your way for the trip home. A great tour and a great introduction to Lima.

Went to market 😍 avacado 1kg big 😲 have churro 😋 saw bones (the real stuff) in the catacombs 💀 tried pisco sour 😝 met new people 🤩 what could be better??? A fabulous guide who knows her city, Gladys. Half day to show just enough of the city to wet the appetite to explore more. Thanks Gladys!

Paula was a fabulous tour guide on the discovery of Lima tour. I was the only person booked on the tour and was very grateful it was not cancelled. Paula was very informative about historical lima and the food market. I very much enjoyed my afternoon seeing the real side of Lima. The public transport was essential given how busy traffic is getting around the city and meant we saw a lot more than a bus tour. Thank you

My wife and I recently had a one day layover in Lima on our way to Iquitos. Wanting to make the most of our short stay there, we decided to take a half-day walking tour with Urban Adventures. Since group tours were not offered on the one day we were there, our only option was a private tour. Urban Adventures was very flexible and was able to accommodate our last minute requests. Our guide, Giorgio was very knowledgeable and warm, and his English is flawless. We met Giorgio at Kennedy Park in Miraflores and then took public transportation to the central district. This was not only an interesting way to experience the locals' daily commute, but was also a very efficient way to get around since the express buses run in dedicated traffic lanes and therefore avoid much of Lima's congestions. We walked through and saw many of the central district's main sites, including the presidential palace, senate, several churches, the Inca Garcilaso Cultural Center, the Inquisition Museum, etc. We even stopped at an old stately bar to experience Lima's "best Pisco Sour". Our favourite visit was to Lima's central market where we saw the richness of Peru's agricultural products first hand and were introduced to our new favorite tropical fruit, the Granadilla (a very sweet and juicy relative of the Passion Fruit). We could not have asked for a better way to spend our short time in Lima. Giorgio's guidance was both informative, entertaining and very personable.

Great walking tour, touring local markets trying local delicacies, local transport catching the bus was a crazy experience!! and downtown Lima, the catacombs and church where very interesting and was the central plaza. It was just me and a guide so it was my own personal experience!! Gladys was lots of fun and very knowledgable and the Pisco sour and enjoying a local churro was expecially fun!

We had a great tour around Lima with our tour guide Giorgio! He was very knowledgeable super friendly and helpful and showed us around all the best sites. We learnt lots and felt like we got a lot from the tour. Would recommend!

Let me start by saying Paula was one of the loveliest guides I’ve ever had the opportunity to tour with. Very friendly, knowledgeable on local custom, interesting to listen to, and ensured we had a beautiful afternoon in Lima. We walked many places - historical buildings, museum & church, market place, traveled on the local bus and finished with a pisco at a beautiful old bar. Was just great to get amongst the locals and taste the food while also learning the history of the area with plenty of photo moments. Highly recommend this short but relaxing introduction into life in Lima.

Gonzalo arrived well before time. The meeting point was easy to find and Gonzaloa was friendly and welcoming and spoke excellent English. We had the opportunity to use local transport. Our guide was very knowledgeable and entertaining.The architecture all around central Lima is very beautiful and this your gives you the opportunity to get up close. Finished with a Pisco Sour in a beautiful old bar after visiting the catacombs, China town and the central market. An excellent tour guide and a tour well worth doing.

We were so lucky to have a lovely group and a great guide. Teresa was very informative. Took a local bus together into downtown from Mira Flores, visited local markets and some great historical sights. We had fun and had the BEST ever freshly made hot and delicious Churros with a caramel centre. Of course a refreshing Pisco Sour to end

Teresa was a very pleasant and knowledgable guide who conducts the tour in an appropriately casual and well-paced manner. She’s also very helpful in giving you tips about getting around in Lima and sampling varieties of the local foods. If you want an informative small group tour, this is a great way to spend an afternoon in Lima.

We loved this walking tour!!! The guide was wonderful, the sights were amazing. Catacombs was a definite highlight. And Pisco Sour at the end was divine. Highly recommend this tour!

This tour was great! Our guide was excellent with fantastic local knowledge and a great sense of humor. We visited some cool spots in Lima and finished the trip with a well deserved pisco sour. Highly recommend!

This tour back in February 2018 was a casual but very informative venture. The Guide "Paula" was fantastic and went to great lengths to showcase Lime to my wife and I. Pick up/meeting point at the Matriz "Virgen Milagrosa" church was on time. Even when the traffic at the end of our tour grid locked the Lima streets Paula remained with us as we took the public transport back to Miraflores area and our hotel. 10 out of 10 for the guide and tour.

After initial confusion about our reservation of the tour, Gonzalo met us at our hotel Gran Bolivar at 3pm for a late start. He was a fantastic guide, very knowledgeable about not only Lima, but all the other places we had been. He happily answered all our questions and recommended a wonderful restaurant for dinner (we would never had found it ourselves) The bar that we went to for the pisco sours was a fantastic place to end our tour!! If you have an afternoon in 'old/central' Lima, this tour will give you the complete picture... local life, markets, main tourist sights... A must do. My only 'complaint' would be the process of making the reservation. There was confusion about the confirmation, there has to be a better system than this. At 2pm when the tour was supposed to start I found out that the admin staff had cancelled the guide even though I had confirmed via email 3 days prior. They wanted an additional confirmation 24 hrs prior (which was not clear in the email) and this was not possible as we had no wifi where we were staying. Please bear this in mind if booking to avoid disappointment. Thank you to wonderful guide for stepping in at the last minute and to Teresa for correcting the mistake quickly; great service and we got to do our tour!!

<p>Make this your first tour to get your orientation to the city. Paula, our tour guide, quickly adapted to our group of 3, personalized the tour for us, gave a good overview of Lima history, answered all our questions, made recommendations for dinner and called an Uber for us! We could not have asked for more....Oh Yes! We had the best Pisco Sour on the tour--where the original was developed by an American. Who Knew!</p>

<p>Pros: Paula our guide, was punctual, friendly, small group and spoke fluent English.</p> <p>Cons: First and foremost, Viator failed to note that May 1st is a national holiday in Lima with many of the attractions closed. As a result, the next day we had to retrace our steps, repay the entrance fees that were to have been paid by the tour guide the day before, had the attractions been open. <br/> The guide was not very informative. To gain anything but superficial information, easily ascertained by reading any guide book, we had to ask questions. Then when we gained access to the attractions the next day and had the pleasure of having a schooled docent guide us, we found much of the information given to us by our tour guide, to be erroneous.<br/> There were black and white, signs affixed to the walls of certain buildings. When we asked the tour guide what these meant, she advised that it indicated the path of the religious march which was taking place that day. As it turned out, they signified the designation of a historic site.<br/> Even the venues to which we gained access, such as the San Francisco Church, we were not shown major attractions in this case Perus version of the Last Supper. <br/> The tour was to have lasted until 6 pm. Ours ended at 4:30 p.m., presumably due to the closure of many venues. However, in my opinion, a qualified guide would have expanded the information for those sites we were shown.<br/> By the way, should any reader wish to visit the Palace of the Archbishop, ask for Katherine she was fantastic.</p>

<p>This was a fun way to see Lima. Our guide was very informative and we had a lot of fun. Would highly recommend this anyone with a half day to see Lima.</p>

<p>Great way to start our visit to Peru MilagrosMilliewas an informative and dynamic guide full of history and facts about the city.</p>

<p>I was the only person on the walking tour and had a great time with the guide Millie who was informative and funny. It was a great trip. Thanks Millie!</p>

<p>Our tour guide was awesome and since there were only 2 of us on the tour, she adjusted to what we wanted to see and was super patient in answering all of our questions about Lima and the area.</p>

<p>I don't think I can say how incredible our walk tour around Lima with Millie was. She gave us 100 of her energy, time, sense of humor, knowledge for over 3 hours. We saw architecture, food markets, monistary, catacombs - it was the best day ever. At the end she treated us to a Pescos Sour which was delicious. Thank you, Millie, for a great day. Di and Richard</p>

<p>Traffic is a terrific headache in Lima so walking to discover downtown is really the best option. We loved the tour, very interesting history and Fabiana, the guide was great!!</p>

<p>We learned so much from Fafiana.She was smart, funny,and very sweet. She explained th sights to us in perfect English. The tour was very worthwhile and recommend to all to get a flavor of downtown Lima and its history. Fafiana even accompanied us on our taxi ride to Park de la Reserva afterwards</p>

<p>This is advertised as a 4 hour tour we were through in 2 hours. Our guide Paula was very nice and answered questions when asked but was not really forthcoming with lots of info, would have appreciated much more info about Peru and Lima.</p>

<p>Paula was knowledgeable and picked up on what we wanted to see and moved along when we were ready to visit the next site. The length of the tour was perfect and Paula was easy to talk to and her English was excellent. Lovely person.</p>