Lima

Lima is Peru's capital and largest city, spread along the Pacific coast where the Rimac River meets the ocean. Founded by the Spanish in 1535, its historic centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, built around the Plaza Mayor, the Cathedral, and the Monastery of San Francisco with its catacombs. Along the coast, the clifftop districts of Miraflores and Barranco offer parks, murals, and some of South America's best restaurants. A few kilometres north, Callao is Lima's original port, home to the colonial-era Real Felipe Fortress, one of the largest Spanish forts still standing in the Americas, and Callao Monumental, once a neglected dockside neighbourhood, now filled with street art. Most Peru itineraries begin or end here, before or after the mountains and jungle further south.