Top travel locations to visit in Lima, Peru: Leading from Plaza de Armas to Plaza San Martin, pedestrian-only Jiron de la Union is a mix of old and new buildings housing restaurants and shops. Here, you’ll find La Merced church, which was completed in the late 1700s and has an ornate Baroque colonial facade, and Casa de Aliaga. This is one of the oldest and best preserved colonial mansions in South America, dating back to the early days of the city. It has been occupied by the Aliaga family since 1535, handed down through 17 generations, making it the oldest home in South America owned and occupied by a single family. The house, furnished in colonial style with pieces from the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, is open on a guided tour by advance reservation.

Parque Kennedy, named after the 35th US president, hosts nightly events from dancing to art exhibits. It also houses hundreds of cats that prowl the park at night. Watch the cats and do some people-watching while eating picarones, a fried Peruvian dessert made of fried sweet potatoes dipped in honey. Peñas are music venues or restaurants, or even someone’s house, where traditional Peruvian music is played by a live band. This music is worlds apart from the electronic cumbia that has captured Lima.

While the grandest and most significant of Peru’s many pre-Colombia monuments are found beyond the limits of the capital, Lima has a host of museums to whet your appetite for learning about the country’s ancient cultures. The oldest of all Peruvian museums is the mammoth-sized Museo Nacional de Arqueologia, Antropologia, e Historia del Peru, covering every Peruvian culture you’ve ever heard of (and many you haven’t). You’ll find artifacts here that include the crossed hands stone from Kotosh and the seven-foot-high carved monolith, the Raimondi Stele from Chavin de Huantar. Only 35 kilometers southeast of the city, the Pachacamac site dates back to 200 AD, making it vastly older than Huaca Pucllana and practically ancient compared with Machu Picchu. Most of the buildings around today were built during Inca occupation in the 15th-century, and you’ll need a bit of imagination to return the adobe-brick temples to their former glory, many of which look like they’ve melted a bit in the sun. That said, if you want to get a glimpse of Peru before the Spanish arrived really, it’s an excellent place to start.

Campos de Vida Natural Foods – Corner of Ugarte and L. Prado. A little cafe and grocery store serving up homemade yogurt and integral breads, as well as Peruvian health foods like quinoa. Candy (corner of Brasil and Cusco) – This is the closest grocery store, although a quick taxi ride will get you to the posh Vivanda on Av. Javier Prado, or the small Plaza Vea on Av. Brasil. Candy is pretty bare-bones, but it’ll get you what you need. The produce section is a bit wilty, but why are you shopping for produce in a grocery store when you should be at the Magdalena Market? Explore a few more images of this fabulous ocean view penthouse on Facebook. Need a place to stay in Lima, Peru? Find even more details on Amazing Penthouse in Lima, Peru.

The Monastery of San Francisco, which dates back to 1673 when it was consecrated, is famous for its Spanish Baroque architecture. This graceful, stately complex is a landmark in historic Lima. It honors Jude the Apostle; on his feast day 40 people carry about a silver stand weighing 1.5 tons. The monastery is famous for its library, which contains 25,000 antique texts, including a Bible printed in 1571. The monastery is just as famous for what lies beneath it: catacombs in which anywhere from 25,000 to 70,000 people were buried. Today their bones are arranged in artistic designs.