Visit Lima by tourist bus
There are two companies of tourist bus to do the full tour of Lima.
- TURIBUS (panoramic bus)
The complete tour lasts 4 hours and there are only 2 departures during the day: at 9 a.m. and 15 p.m.
You can pick it up at the following address: Foreign's C. Larcomar - LIMA Tel: (511) 747-37-17
For 25 USD, it offers 2 routes: RAVINE ou LIMA HISTORICAL CENTER. Entrance fees to the Convent of San Francisco and the Catacombs are included in the price.
- LIMA BY DAY (panoramic bus)
The full tour lasts 3:30 hours and there are only 2 departures during the day: at 9:30 a.m. and at 14:30 p.m. The route goes from the Miraflores district to the historic center. The price is 75 SOLES.
You can pick it up at the following address: Kennedy Park - Miraflores - LIMA
Entrance fees to the Convent of San Francisco and the Catacombs are included in the price.
Tour to visit Lima
Interesting visits to central lima are concentrated and can be done easily on foot. I chose to simply follow the route recommended by Lonely Planet.
We start from Plaza San Martin and follow the directions below.
The raising of the National Guard or Republican Guard
We were lucky enough to stumble upon the changing of the National Guard (it takes place every Sunday at 12 noon at Government Palace or Presidential Palace - Plaza des armas). El Cambio de guardia: it is the changing of the republican guard of Peru (also official escort of the president). It was a magnificent show that I invite you to watch on the attached extract. The ceremony lasts about twenty minutes and ends with EL CONDOR PASA military version: oddly, it was very moving.
We spent the whole morning to visit LIMA. This allowed us to have a general idea, but it is not enough to fully discover all the sites (cathedral, museums, catacombs, etc.). I think it takes at least a full day. But my program did not allow it because I absolutely wanted to visit very distant family who received us like royalty ...
My grandfather's sister's son is married to a Peruvian named Myluska. It is Myluska's dad and his two sisters who live in the very chic district of Groove central lima.
Being received by Peruvians
In the morning, I called Myluska's father to confirm our visit today at 15:00 p.m. He had insisted on inviting us to eat but I declined so as not to have too much work for us (we are still 4 adults…). I did say we would just go have a little coffee.
What a surprise when we arrive… Not only are we welcomed as a VIP, but we discover a large and beautiful table presenting all the typical dishes of Peru.
They had prepared for us a tasting of the main specialties of their country! We were very embarrassed but very curious and finally we went to the table.
The father offers to show us how we prepare the famous Pisco and it is in front of us that he concocts this delicious beverage. He prepares some for 10 people while we are only 7 including 2 who do not drink alcohol ...
The afternoon was thus spent in the joy caused in part by our hosts but especially by the number of glasses of Pisco...
Our trip ended in the best possible way: In joy, friendliness, exchange and sharing with Peruvians.
Homemade Pisco recipe for 4 or 5 people
(For us, he multiplied the doses by 2 !!! 😛):
- 1 large glass (like a large lemonade glass) of white PISCO
- Half the glass of lemon juice
- Half the glass of cane syrup
- Half the glass of water
- Half egg white
- Put everything in a blinder and mix for 5 seconds, serve and enjoy ...
Typical dishes, specialties of Peru
- The guinea pig : Dish of pre-Inca origin. There are guinea pig farms because it is the holiday dish and it is very popular with Peruvians. My experience was limited to tasting Cuy Pekines at Astrid y Gaston (see previous article).
- Ceviche : Raw marinated fish. There are a multitude of versions of this recipe. The 3 that I tasted at Astrid y Gaston were simply delicious. A word of advice: you must absolutely taste this dish in this country !!!
- El lomo saltado : Beef tenderloin minced and sautéed with onions, tomatoes, peppers, soy sauce and served with large fries. It is found on all maps and I have never been disappointed.
- The PATARASHCA : Amazonian dish consisting of fish, tomatoes, onions, garlic, olive oil.
- Alpaca steak : We must forget these adorable animals that we stroked throughout our trip to get to taste this meat ... which we say is incredibly tender.
- abodo de cerdo : Typical dish from the Arequipa region. It is a pork stew marinated in red wine and accompanied by Andean potatoes.
To find out the list of hotels on my tour: