The Historic centre of Lima, located in downtown Lima and the Rímac District, was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988 due to the large number of historical buildings dating from the Spanish colonial era, a small number of which have now been restored. In particular, the monumental Plaza Mayor, with the 16th century Cathedral and the Presidential Palace, and the catacombs of the Convento de San Francisco are popular with visitors.

Main Square, Lima
It was the center of the old Colonial city. The Cathedral of Lima, the GovernmentPalace and the Provincial City Hall of Lima are located in its perimeter. At its center, there is a seventeenth century bronze fountain.

Cathedral of Lima
It is placed where the first Main Church of Lima was. The interior is austere, although it shelters real historic jewels like the finely carved wooden pews of the Baltasar Noguera choir, different side altars, and the remains of Francisco Pizarro. In addition, you can visit the Museum of Religious Art that possesses an important collection of canvases, sculptures, chalices, and chasubles.

Government Palace
It was the residence of Francisco Pizarro (1535), who built it on the land that used to be occupied by Taulichusco, chief of the RimacValley. Since then, the place has been the center of the political power in Peru. It burnt down and was rebuilt in the 1920’s. It features many patios and rooms dedicated to important people of Peruvian history and carefully decorated with notable art pieces. Every morning at 11:45 A.M., the Patio of Honor is the stage for the changing of the guard, soldiers of the prestigious Husares de Junín Battalion.

San Francisco Church and Convent
A seventeenth century architectural complex. It includes the church, the convent, and the square. The church main front was carved in stone and is characterized by its Corinthian columns. In the facade, there is an open cornice with arches with an image of the Immaculate Conception. The cloistered area, decorated with tiles, houses the Vice-royalArt Museum. Additionally, the catacombs, which was a cemetery during the Colony, can be visited.

Cementerio General Presbitero Matias Maestro (Presbyter Matias Maestro General Cemetery)
This was the first cemetery in Lima, inaugurated in 1808 by Viceroy Abascal and designed up by the famous Spanish architect Presbyter Matias Maestro. There are more than 766 Neo-classical mausoleums, some with notable statues and statuettes representing saints and the theological virtues.

Parque de la Muralla
It houses a fragment of the restored old wall that surrounded Lima and was built in the seventeenth century to protect it from pirates and attacks from enemies of the Spanish crown. There is a statue of the founder of Lima, Francisco Pizarro, and a site museum with exhibitions of archeological pieces found in the area.

Church and Convent of La Merced
A sixteenth century Colonial architectural complex. The church maintains the granite facade that dates from 1687. The roof is finely decorated with plaster figures. The Neo-classical upper altar with the image of the Virgin of La Merced and a carven figure of Saint Michael the Archangel is the most important interior piece. The Pedro Urraca Chapel is also found inside as well as the coarse wooden cross that, according to the stories, he used to exorcise the devil.

Aliaga House
Being built with quincha (anti-seismic building material) and adobe on top of existing pre-Hispanic foundations, its rooms had to be adapted to an irregular distribution and placed on different levels. The main facade possesses a Republican era balcony. It has lovely patios; the first is covered in nineteenth century Italian marble and the second is adorned with an old bronze fountain. The house has belonged to the same family since the year it was built (1535) and today is the location of different cultural events.

Josefina Ramos de Cox Archeological Museum of the Riva Agüero Institute
It gathers archeological and ethno-historical evidence excavated in the 1960’s and belonging to pre-Inca, Inca, and Hispanic-Andean periods. Among the most important pieces is a specimen from the Maranga huacas. The museum is housed in a beautiful Colonial residence known as the O’Higgins house, and it is still possible to see testimonies of the Vice royal and Republican eras there.

Museum of the Inquisition and the Congress
The museum preserves numerous objects and rooms which were used during the Inquisition process. Among them, there is the Courtroom where the members of the Inquisition Tribunal met. Interesting sights are the Secret Door, used to conduct individuals to the Grand Inquisitor’s private room, the Torture Chamber, the secret dungeon with its subterranean cells, and the Inquisition Library. Library of Congress. Across the street, occupying the area that used to be the old church and monastery of la Caridad (sixteenth century), there is the Congressional Building of the Republic, a Neo-classical building constructed between 1912 and 1916.

Church of San Pedro
Built in 1636, the first floor was inspired by the main Jesuit church in Rome and has three naves. It is the only church in Lima with three entrances, which is a characteristic of a cathedral. What stands out is the magnificent Churrigueresque shrines and the space of the central naves that seem to be surrounded by paintings and tiles. There are many works of art from the Lima, Cusco, and QuitoSchools, a series of gilded carvings of the founders of some religious orders, and a painting of the coronation of the Virgin by Bernardo Bitti.

Torre Tagle Palace
The construction of this two story building began in 1735 by order of the Marquis of Torre Tagle, Treasurer of the Spanish Royal Navy. It is considered to be one of the best representations of the eighteenth century Lima residential architectural style. Notable items are the carved wooden balcony, Baroque chapel decorated with mirrors and Colonial paintings, and the carefully worked stone entrance. Today, it is the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Relations.

Museum of the Central Reserve Bank of Peru
It contains three main thematic exhibition areas: Archeology, Contemporary Peruvian Painting, and Popular Art. The Museum is responsible for the recently restored Upper Tribunal of Accounts and the NumismaticMuseum.

Museum of Arts and Popular Traditions of the Riva Agüero Institute
Created in 1979, it gathers more than 5000 pieces of popular art belonging to important collections donated or submitted for their preservation. The textile and sacred image carving exhibits are the most impressive.

Santo DomingoChurch and Convent
The church has three naves with an impressive cupola and finely carved cedar pews in the choir. The convent walls are decorated with tiles from Seville, and the main room features Baroque carvings. In 1551, the first university founded by the Spanish crown in the New World, the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, was established in the convent.

Santa Rosa de Lima Church and Monastery
The complex is made up of the Church and the Sanctuary. It was built between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries next to the house where Santa Rosa de Lima, patron saint of Lima, the Americas, and the Philippines, was born and lived. Highlights to see are the chapel, built in 1614, the lemon orchard planted by the saint, and the 19 meter deep well where, as the story says, she threw the key to the belt that she cinched on herself as a sign of penitence.

Church of Las Nazarenas
It was constructed in the second half of the eighteenth century on the old lands of the Colonial neighborhood, Pachacamilla. The central part of the altar is formed by two fluted and gold leaf covered Tuscan pilasters that hold up the Baroque front. In the interior of the altar, like an urn, you see the image of the Lord of Miracles, an oil painting on a rough adobe wall.
According to tradition, during the seventeenth century, this image of Christ was painted by a black slave. It is the only wall that remained standing after the earthquakes of 1655, 1687, and 1746. Each year in October, a huge procession with the replica of the image of the Purple Christ, as he is also known, moves through the streets of Lima.

LimaArt Museum
This was set up in the former WorldExhibitionPalace (1869). They exhibit pre-Hispanic ceramics, textiles, and fine metal works. There are also collections of the most important paintings and works of art from Peru.

Italian Art Museum
It was built by the Italian colony in honor of the hundred year anniversary of Peruvian independence and inaugurated in 1924. The Italian Renaissance facade is worked in white marble with the coats of arms of the main Italian cities and two mosaic panels with notable historical figures. Permanent exhibitions show art works from Italy with elements of Bramante architecture and decorative details inspired by Donatello, Ghiberti, Michelangelo, and Botticcelli.

Parque de la Exposicion
The park houses monuments that correspond to the hundred years of independence like the Morisco Pavilion, the Seismograph, the Chinese Fountain, the Botanical Gardens, and the JapaneseGarden. There are also areas dedicated to arts and entertainment like the PuppetIsland, the Open Theater, and the La Cabaña Theater.

Los Descalzos Church and Convent
The convent was established at the end of the sixteenth century. It is characterized by its large and peaceful rooms where valuable paintings of the Lima, Cusco, and QuitoSchools are preserved.