Budget · 3-hour walk · Lima
Lima's historic centre in three hours
The main square, the cathedral, and the monastery with the catacombs under it.
Lima's colonial centre is a UNESCO site of about twenty blocks, and the single strangest thing in it is underneath the San Francisco monastery: catacombs holding the bones of some twenty-five thousand people, arranged in patterns. Everything on this walk is within five blocks of the Plaza Mayor.
The route, stop by stop
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Plaza Mayor of Lima
The city's founding square from 1535. The changing of the presidential guard at the palace is at noon.
25 min here Walk here → -
Lima Cathedral
Pizarro's remains are in a side chapel, in a glass case, having been misidentified for decades.
25 min here Walk here → -
Basilica and Convent of San Francisco
Guided tours only, and the catacombs below hold the bones of around twenty-five thousand people.
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Jiron de la Union
The pedestrian street linking the two main squares, and the city's promenade since the 19th century.
25 min here Walk here →
More in Lima
Every walking route in Lima, or the full Lima guide for where to stay and what a day costs.