2 days in Lima - Suggestions?

Next month I'm going to be in Lima for a 2-day period as part of a larger trip. I'll be staying in the Radisson Miraflores. Any recommendations for places to eat or things to see?

Miraflores - you can easily do the hanggliding thing over the beach as it's from there

I'd go downtown to the city center / govt center and see the old churches (Francisco Pizarro is buried on the main square), including the one with the crypt and a gajillion bones geometrically arranged downthe road from the main square (I've already forgotten the name of it and I only got back a month ago - San Francisco?!?!). Any concierge or guide book can tell you.

If you dig it, get your nails done and a massage at super cheap rates (1hr massage - $20US including tip, nails $6US!).

Hit up the two Huaca archaeological sites right in the city. They predate Inca times are actually impressive considering the age and the fact that they're right in the middle of the city. Take a picnic lunch to El Bosque - olive groves as relax while people watching.

Eat lots of alpaca. Buy cheap alpaca sweaters / scarves for the fam back home. Pack toilet paper and hand sanitizer for the excursions around the city, and whatever you do, don't throw the tp in the toilet. Enjoy!

A "must do", even if you have only two days, is a seafood lunch. Even if you don't like the uncooked cebiche, there are lots of other dishes to try. A few of the better cebicherías are:

- La Mar, in Miraflores, Avenida La Mar. Cebichería by the famous Peruvian chef Gastón Acurio. Top notch and very popular, so make a reservation.
- Pescados Capitales, also on Av. La Mar. Trendy, upscale, and some really innovative dishes including a curry cebiche that is surprisingly good.
- "Taller de Cocina" Los Cavenecia, in Surquillo. Kind of hard to find, but worth it, so ask around. The Tiradito Marinero is to die for.
- Segundo Muelle, a decent chain with several outlets in Lima.
- Francesco, in Miraflores along the Malecón. Dated decor but good food and nice sea breezes.
- Kapallaq, along Petit Thouars. Specializes in northern Peruvian cuisine. Fairly conventional approach, overall excellent food.

And lots of others. Enjoy!

You can´t go wrong eating at Tanta. The one nearest you is on Ave. 28 de Julio intersecting with Reducto. If you like seafood, they have good cebiche, etc. If you don`t (like me), they have a wide range of both Peruvian and International dishes. This is one of Gaston Acurio´s restaurants. Good food, good service.

Thanks all for the suggestions. I've printed this thread out so that I will have easy reference to it while in Lima.

On the hang-gliding thing - whats the ballpark cost for it? Sounds like it'd be fun.

A bit expensive, at least for peruvians. I guess it's us$40 to $50, but only 10 to 15 minutes, too short. I would pay that for 30 at least. But check it. The place is very near the Radisson (I live near too).

Check the weather. This summer started ugly. No much rains but cloudy almost every day. Perhaps is the Niño. It has to be sunny to appreciate Miraflores landscape from the air, with the beaches, the cliffs, etc.

If you like seafood, yes try La Mar, Francesco or Segundo Muelle.

I second the recommendation for spending one of those days seeing the city center. In addition to the cathedral and San Francisco church, there are a half dozen other churches and various other colonial buildings worth a look.

Nobody else has mentioned museums so I will put in a good word for the Museo Larco (primarily pre-Columbian artifacts, well lit and well-explained, as well as the rather unusual erotic gallery) and for the Museo National de Antropoligica, Arqeologica e Historia. Both of those are in the Puebla Libra neighborhood and are maybe a 10-15 minute walk apart, connected by a blue line on the sidewalk. It should be about a 12 soles cab ride from Miraflores, if I recall correctly.

In Miraflores, Parque Kennedy is good for people watching.

Yes, get an outside table at HAITI (restaurant) which is in front of Parque Kennedy and have one of their excellent capuccinos while you people watch.

But if you want a better cup of coffee, try Café Zeta, just down the street...

They also make a decent breakfast.

Quite nice to visit Barranco in the daytime (it's known as a nightlife destination). Interesting old houses, nice quirky atmosphere. Check out the gallery of sculptor and painter Victor Delfin on Domeyer street on the cliff above the ocean.

I spent one day in Lima, so here are my highlights:

- I thought the 'changing of the guards' ceremony at the Presidential Palace was really neat. It's not given much mention in the tourbooks. Think Buckingham Palace but with lots of gun tossing and an elaborate South American band. I believe that it's at noon every day.

- I'll second the prior rec for the Larco museum. The erotic art gallery is unlike anything I've never seen before.

- The catacombs were awesome to see (if you're not the type who would be grossed out by that). They're at the church near the Plaza de Armas.

- Eat as much ceviche as you can. It wasn't nearly as good in other parts Peruvian cities, and what is called "ceviche" in the US isn't anything close.

I hit all the major things (Plaza del Armas, the main cathedrals, Park Kennedy, etc.), but the above is what stands out and what I remember most.

We took the evening double decker bus tour to the City via the water show in a park. Great, don't miss this.

I was just wondering if the OP is still going on their trip - they mentioned that they would be in Lima for 2 days as part of a larger trip. Most folks do Lima as a stopover to Cusco and Machu Picchu - but there has been dreadful flooding in this area, and in fact, the railroads to Aguas Calientes / Machu Picchu have been washed away. Estimates are that it will be at least 2-3 months before they are fixed.

And that's pretty much the only way into the Sacred valley to get to Machu Picchu. So, NOBODY is going to Maccu Picchu in the next couple of months at least. Cusco has also seen significant flooding, although nowhere near as bad as the area just below Machu Picchu.

I actually just got back from the trip. I was not planning to go to Machu Picchu on this trip but I am in June. I'm pretty hopeful the lines will be fixed by then.

Thanks all for the tips. I did go to the San Francisco church and see all the bones arranged. Kinda surreal there. I also managed to get to one of the Huaca sites but the name is escaping me now.

Although I'm not much of a fish person I did make sure to try some cebecherias. I really enjoyed La Mar.

Larco Mar shopping center was surprsing to me with having a Tony Romas and a Chilis. Wouldn't expect those to be popular there. Maybe it was all tourists eating there.

The parasailing was 150Soles for 10-15 minutes. Definitely didn't seem worth it to me. Entertaining to watch though.

All in all, a decent trip. I didn't eat any alpaca but I did get some scarves & blankets for friends.