|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Museo del Oro (The Gold Museum, Monterrico) –
If you only have time for one museum, this is the one. Room after room of
every imaginable item of gold, artifacts from the Inca, Mochica, Chimu,
and Nasca peoples, plus gorgeous textiles. Your kid's eyes will glaze over
with daydreams of Indiana Jones-type adventures. |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
 Museo
de Armas del Mundo – In the same building with the Gold Museum
is the "Weapons of the World" museum, a collection of arms dating
back to the 1500s. And what a collection – guns, knives, daggers, battle
axes, blunderbuses, swords, pistols, armor, spurs, saddles and military
uniforms from Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and South America! Highlights
of the collection include the sword made for Pizarro and sword of the Marquis
de Lafayette. |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
Convento de San Francisco – The convent is a time
warp into sixteenth century colonial Lima. Beautiful both inside and out,
with grand medieval style and lovely Sevillana hand-painted tiles and a
magnificent library. But to really spook the kids – lead them down
to the 400 year old catacombs below the Convent, where you'll wind
your way through corridors stacked with ancient bones from the colonial
period. |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
Palacio del Gobierno – This is the massive "Palace
of the Government" which dominates Lima. Be sure to get there before
11:45 am, to see the daily changing of the guards in all their gold-helmeted,
goose-stepping pageantry. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Catedral de Lima – Get up close and personal with
history, for this is where the greatest Conquistador of all is entombed: Francisco Pizarro who, with only a few hundred soldiers, subdued
the great Inca Empire. The Cathedral is quite grand and, like the Convent,
dates back to the beginnings of the Spanish Empire: 1555. It was reconstructed
after an earthquake in 1746. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Parque Japones – A small
Japanese-style park with a lovely koi fish pond, local children like to
feed the enormous fish, while parents relax in the tranquility of the spot
(you can buy fish food there). Located on 28 de Julio Avenue (Parque de
la Exposicion), this is a nice rest during tourism or shopping trips. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Museum of Anthopology and Archeology (Museo
Nacional de Arqueologia, Anthropologia e Historia del Peru, Plaza Bolivar) – The museum has wonderful exhibits from pre-Inca and Inca cultures,
including Paracas mummies and skulls with trepanning, Moche ceramics (thematically
organized by food, transportation, music, etc.), a detailed model of Machu
Picchu, a recreation of the frozen Inca girl from Mt. Ampato, dioramas of
prehistoric scenes. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Parque de las Leyendas (Park of the Legends) – This park is situated amidst the ruins of pre-Inca Maranga "huacas"
(holy sites). The zoo is oriented towards Peruvian plants and animals.
It's divided into the three principle climatic regions of Peru: coast, mountains,
and jungle. This is the place to see Andean condors, llamas, vicunas, guanacos,
pumas, great horned owls (mountains) jaguars, green anacondas, toucans,
parrots, coatis, spider monkeys, owl monkeys, caymans, (jungle) and Galapagos
tortoises (coast). If you can't get to all three zones in Peru, this is
a nice way to get a taste of these areas. |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
Don't
miss the Mina Modelo, a replica of the interior of a mine, with mining
cars piled high with minerals such as quartz, phosphates and galena. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The
park has a big picnic area, where you'll see Lima school kids playing
soccer. The picnic area is next to the ruins of two huacas from 700
years ago. |
|
|
|
| |
|
Kids
will enjoy the huge playground with swings, slides, teeter totters,
a maze, train to climb on and circle roundabout. There are also amusement
rides for little kids, and a go-kart track, Chachikart, for bigger
kids. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Museo de la Fortaleza Real Felipe (The Royal
Philip Fortress Museum, Callao) – This is where, three centuries
ago, the Spanish General José Ramón Rodil signed the agreement which declared
Peru completely free of Spanish domination of their richest colony. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Miraflores – |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Parque
Kennedy (also called Parque 7 de Junio, Parque Central)
– This pleasant park has swings, slides, and an excellent kids'
playground. Around the park are cafes where you can find snacks. |
|
|
|
| |
|
Parque
el Faro – Watch the paragliders sailing on the wind currents coming
off the cliffs above the beach. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Parque de la Amistad (Santiago de Surco) – Looking for a
park to relax, the Parque de la Amistad has miniature steam train and
typical Andean train station, artificial lake, Cultural Center and lots
of grass to run around. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Catch a soccer game – Soccer, anyone? Called futbol in most
of the world, it's played with a passion in Peru. If you have players
in the family, attend a world-class match (maybe they'll pick up some
pointers for the team back home). Teams to look for: Alianza Lima, Universitario,
Sporting Cristal and Alianza Atlético. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Beaches – If you need a beach day, El Silencio, San Bartolo and Santa Maria are good family beaches. Spend
the afternoon relaxing and building sand castles. However, if you come in summer, days can be gray and overcast in Lima. |
