🇵🇪 Lima | Plaza de Armas & Historic Walk (1/2-Day Itinerary)

For a quick route, see the map at the end! 🗺️ This is a fast-paced half-day tour, but the area is full of hidden gems (small museums, churches, shops) worth exploring slowly. 📍 Recommended Route: 1️⃣ Plaza San Martín Built to honor General José de San Martín (liberator of South America) ✊ Surrounded by abandoned colonial buildings (too expensive to restore 💸) Often used for protests, but police are friendly and love photos! 📸 2️⃣ Basilica de La Merced Baroque-style church (1534) – Originally wood, rebuilt in brick 🏛️ A basilica (officially recognized by the Pope!) ⛪ 3️⃣ Plaza de Armas (Main Square) Birthplace of modern Peru 💫 Legend says its fountain once flowed with pisco sour! 🍹 Surrounded by: City Hall 🏢 Presidential Palace 🏛️ Lima Cathedral (UNESCO-listed cedar balconies – now only seen in ex-colonies!) 4️⃣ Lima Cathedral Closed for Sunday mass when I visited 😢 (opens shortly after) Peek inside – Glimpse its grandeur! ✨ Historic balconies = Key to its UNESCO status! #Architecture #SouthAmerica #Peru #Lima #TravelWithMeaning 🌎✈️