Best Neighborhoods to Visit Lima

Lima is considered one of the most attractive cities in South America since it’s the principal representation of Peru, a country associated constantly with touristic enchantment and a lot of adventures. However, Lima’s not quite perfect anyway, and not all its corners are made for walking at night. This city is still part of Latin America, and everyone knows this part of the world is still screaming insecurity, violence, and other issues every time.

That’s why is recommended to have an idea of the Best Neighborhoods to Visit Lima, not just for a typical tourist, but for those who want to live here for a long time. Let’s be honest, no one would like to get an awful surprise after migration.

It’s time for you to read my Best Neighborhoods to Visit Lima Listing, at least for me. This doesn’t mean I have the absolute reason. Indeed, I need to know more places in Lima, but at least I’d like to give you information about these charming places in the capital.

Modern Lima: Miraflores

I consider this part of Lima as my favorite one. This site of Lima is magnificent and I think it has the best of everything since it’s modern, secure, impressive and at the same time it has some classical spots, which is amazing to any plan you have in your weekend or even in a Wednesday night.

If you ever get to this place, you need to walk through Kennedy Park (Parque Kennedy). You also have to know Benavides and Arequipa Avenue because these places have amazing spots to buy clothes, foods and more. The best thing about all this is that you’ll enjoy great environments in general.

You need to know that this place is one of the most touristic and modern in Lima. As you can guess, it’s very expensive. But, if you don’t want to waste money at all then don’t worry, you can walk through a lot of parks near the Costa Verde (or Green Coast) and enjoy a beautiful sunset with no cents, except for transport, of course.

Bohemian Site: Barranco

I couldn’t leave out Barranco since I currently live here thanks to my Peruvian family, raised in this historical neighborhood in Lima. I’m living with an auntie, an uncle, and my cousin. Anyway, I can tell you about this part of my life later, ’cause right now the main point here is the neighborhood. I can guarantee that Barranco is fantastic for multiple reasons.

Unlike Miraflores, Barranco is more bohemian and with a classical touch, so you won’t see a typical metropolitan site or huge buildings with commercial spots full of lights. Instead, you’ll see a lot of sites with a hipster environment to drink a coffee, read books, buy cactus and more similar stuff.

Indie lifestyle it’s the most distinctive thing in Barranco, and the fact that this district has one touristic attraction recognizable anywhere, which is Puente de Los Suspiros, makes it even better. By the way, all of Barranco is beautiful and relaxing to walk.

Last but not least, it’s important to remember two things: This place is expensive too, but you can explore it almost for free, at least with its principal sites, and you can even walk down the beach easily with no cent wasted. Another thing is that some places in Barranco tend to be insecure since those are connected with some slums or “barrios bajos” in the dangerous part of Surco, so be careful when walking, it’s better to be cautious.

The Avant-Garde in Lima: San Isidro

Considered as one of the most advanced sites in Lima, there’s no doubt that this place is impressive. It’s different from other neighborhoods not because of its traditional style, on the contrary, San Isidro is quite modern and it has enormous buildings with amazing business centers. This district has been created for office lifestyle with a classy touch.

But it’s not like any other “business center”, at least not in Southamerica. San Isidro has HUGE and majestic buildings with unforgettable architecture. Actually, you can’t take photos easily ’cause these places are very private, exclusive and with an almost perfect security system, so well…it’s quite hard to get some pictures as references right now. I couldn’t take ANY when I was there and of course, I haven’t found almost any on the web (not even in Pixabay, lol).

Another thing to mention about this district is that its residential sites are gorgeous, and it has a great number of green parks perfect to walk and get a peaceful time.

I have to mention this site is expensive as the ones mentioned before, but that doesn’t mean you can explore it for free. If you find a job in this location, believe me, it’s one extra point to consider then.

Extravagance and Elegance in Lima: La Molina

I’ve got to confess that this site has a very distinctive attribute from the others: ITS RESIDENTIAL PLACES. Once you enter this neighborhood, you realize that residential sites in La Molina are amazing because they’re huge and luxurious. There are even mansions in this place, so you’ll probably feel like you were in a tv show or even in Los Angeles when walking there -or at least that’s what I think-.

I have to say that I need to learn more about this spot, but from what I’ve seen, I’ve felt in love. Its streets are very clean, and its buildings are beautiful, even without an avant-garde style as in San Isidro. There’s no doubt that this place is quite expensive due to its “high lifestyle“, so you’ll probably observe people with a lot of money living here.

You can get to know it for sure, it’s worth it. The only negative thing is the price of almost anything (even drinking a coffee), and probably that the transportation is a mess if you don’t own a car or don’t want to pay a taxi, considering that this place of Lima is far away from other sites.

Calm and Modernity: San Borja

Another neighborhood that I need to know more is San Borja, but from what I’ve got to explore here, I can describe it as precious and relaxing. It’s a little bit similar to Miraflores since it’s modern, secure, clean and has a lot of commercial spots with sophisticated environments.

Also, its parks are beautiful and peaceful for a chill afternoon or a brunch-time with friends. So, even when this place it’s expensive too, you can still get to know it with just a penny in your pocket for transportation. You’ll probably be lucky enough to enjoy any festival or special event in this place.

Other Neighborhoods to Visit in Lima: Magdalena del Mar and Lince

I left these two out of my rank because of some specific reasons I’ll mention later. Nevertheless, these districts are beautiful as well and they have a lot of chill places to spare time. They have small malls, classy restaurants for a romantic dinner and modern stores.

The only reason I left them out, it’s that unlike the other neighborhoods (except for Barranco), these two places can be gorgeous but dangerous, due to some burglars that are experts taking your stuff away as fast as possible, so you should be careful.

This doesn’t mean that there aren’t burglars in other places in Lima, but it’s better to be cautious about this topic when walking around in certain districts like Lince and Magdalena. Still, you can be sure that even with this “issue”, you can walk with peace in the most beautiful sites of Lima, since the violence here has not a comparison to other places in Southamerica such as Caracas, for example.

So in general, Lima is a big city with a great culture, and its beauty side is easy to enjoy and explore, mostly because every day is a new chance to know different spots here. Believe me, every day there’s a new restaurant, a new store, or even a new coffee spot. Lima is still a fascinating city in South America, not only for locals but for tourists and even wild explorers in general.

Would you like to know my favorite spots from these neighborhoods? If you’d like that, let me know in the comments, See you later!

¡No olvides compartir! 🙂