Lima City Tour and Casa Aliaga - 5 hours

After passing by The Huaca Pucllana briefly with your bilingual guide, we’ll drive to the historic center of Lima, all of which is a designated UNESCO World Heritage site. We’ll go to the beautiful Plaza de Armas (Lima’s main square), which is surrounded by impressive colonial and Republican-era buildings, many of which have ornate wooden balconies. Some of Peru’s most important buildings surround the square, including the Government Palace, The Cathedral of Lima, the Archbishop’s Palace of Lima, the Municipal Palace, and the Palace of the Union.

We will visit the Cathedral of Lima, which was completed in 1649. It’s a huge structure with a large central nave and 14 side chapels. Inside, we’ll see the sculptures and paintings that decorate the interior. The cathedral is also home to the tomb of the conquistador Francisco Pizarro.

Next, we’ll walk one block to the Convent of San Francisco, founded in the 1530s and completed in 1766, it is one of the most important religious buildings in PeruThe Monastery of San Francisco was blessed in the 17th century, 1673 to be precise, but wasn’t completed until 1774. Over the years, it’s withstood several serious earthquakes in Lima and had its fair share of damage from some of them. San Francisco’s library, which holds over 25,000 Spanish, English and Quechua books from the 16th to the 20th centuries. Shelves and shelves of ancient books are stacked above each other in the ornately decorated room. Many of the library’s books are now so old and delicate that they can only be handled by the Franciscan monks themselves. There’s even a version of the Bible dating from 1571. The Convento is built around a peaceful central garden filled with mango and lucuma fruit trees. Above the beautiful tile-work, you may be able to spot the series of murals depicting the life of St Francis of Assisi (to whom the Convent and Church are dedicated to, and named after).

Some of the murals have been restored. Strangely though, all those that haven’t, have chunks missing from the artwork, and no one knows why. The cloisters lead to a series of rooms, each one filled with something a little different. One is filled with ceiling frescoes and a magnificent golden centerpiece depicting angels, flowers, and fruit surrounding the Virgin Mary. The main feature here is Diego de la Puerto’s 1696 painting of The Last Supper. Sure, we’ve all seen pictures of the last supper before but have you ever seen one with guinea pigs and potatoes as part of the meal?

Descend into the foundations of the church and you will find the Monastery of San Francisco Lima catacombs – the largest catacombs in Lima. During Inca times, people were buried under important buildings. When the Spaniards arrived, they changed this tradition so that people were buried under the churches instead. Over 25,000 people were buried in the catacombs up until 1808. They were closed and then forgotten about until they were rediscovered and reopened in 1947. Whether you like the idea of descending into the catacombs or not, there is a somewhat macabre fascination with the way the bones have been organized into patterns and shapes.

The Aliaga House

The Aliaga House is the oldest colonial mansion in Lima and one of the oldest in South America. The Aliaga family has lived in the mansion since Francisco Pizarro granted the land to Jerónimo de Aliaga in 1535. Not many houses in the world have been occupied by the same family for such a long time. Over the centuries, the generations of the Aliaga family have made their mark on the interior, creating an amazing collection of historical artifacts, furniture, art, and other decorations. The interior patio is also a wonderful sight, and an impressive wooden staircase leads up to the elegant salons with their fine colonial and Republican-era furniture. Few places in the Americas present the passage of history in such an authentic and lived-in way, making Casa de Aliaga a fascinating place to visit during your time in Lima. We will then drop you off at your hotel.