The Historic Centre of Lima is the city’s top tourist attraction and is one of Peru’s several UNESCO World Heritage sites. It was founded by the Spanish in the 16th century and eventually became Spain’s capital of South America. It was initially called the “City of Kings” because it was founded around Three Kings Day. The name never really stuck and eventually became Lima when the Spanish couldn’t pronounce the “Q” in “Limaq”, which is what the natives called it.
The Historic Centre has been rebuilt over time due to numerous earthquakes, but it has still retained its charm. It is easy to spend a few hours walking around the area visiting the various churches, plazas, museums, parks, historical buildings, and pedestrian streets. Highlights for us were Plaza San MartÃn, the Main Square of Lima, Casa de la Literatura Peruana (free bathroom!), and Catacumbas del Convento de San Francisco. Plus, you never know what you will run into like we found out when we saw the Virgen del Carmen parade.
At the end of the day we found a bar, Mi Tercer Lugar, that serves tons of craft beer. They say that they are the largest craft beer bar in Peru but they definitely don’t have the largest pints.
