Centro Historico de Lima and its balcony-lined colonial streets

Centro Historico de Lima is the colonial heart of Peru’s capital, a UNESCO-listed grid of plazas and streets where ornate wooden balconies project above the pavements and government power, church authority and everyday trade share the same historic blocks.Historic Centre of Lima

A UNESCO-recognised colonial city core

Centro Historico de Lima occupies the historic city centre of Lima, in the Rímac valley on the central coast of Peru, and forms part of a protected monumental zone spanning districts on both banks of the Rímac river.historic city centre of Lima The area recognised on the World Heritage List covers hundreds of hectares within a wider buffer zone, reflecting a dense concentration of colonial and republican public buildings and town houses arranged on a planned street grid.World Heritage Site established by UNESCO in 1988

The site was first inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1988 for the convent ensemble of San Francisco and was extended in 1991 to encompass the broader historic centre, with UNESCO citing the architecture and urban form of a Spanish colonial town of major political and economic significance in Latin America.inscribed and extended on the World Heritage List Within the core, hundreds of monuments from the viceregal era and later republican period survive, particularly in the area traditionally known as the Damero de Pizarro, the original grid laid out after the foundation of the city in the sixteenth century.concentration of historic monuments in the Damero de Pizarro

Plaza Mayor and the ensemble of power

At the centre of Centro Historico de Lima lies Plaza Mayor, also known as Plaza de Armas, a rectangular public square that has served as Lima’s main plaza since the city’s foundation by Francisco Pizarro on 18 January 1535.Plaza Mayor dates back to the foundation of the city in 1535 The square is framed by Carabaya, Junín, Huallaga and Unión streets and is surrounded by buildings that concentrate national, ecclesiastical and municipal authority in a single urban space.delimited by surrounding streets and major landmarks

On the north side rises the Government Palace, official residence of the President of Peru, occupying an entire block with a formal façade overlooking the plaza.Government Palace on the north side Along the east stands the Metropolitan Cathedral of Lima, whose origins go back to the sixteenth century and which houses the remains of Francisco Pizarro in a side chapel.Cathedral of Lima and Pizarro’s remains Between the cathedral and the palace sits the Archbishop’s Palace, distinguished by intricately carved wooden balconies, while the west side is taken by the Municipal Palace, Lima’s city hall, completing an ensemble in which civil and religious façades line all four edges of the square.Archbishop’s Palace and Municipal Palace

Balcony-lined streets and the Damero de Pizarro

Radiating out from Plaza Mayor, Centro Historico de Lima is structured by a grid of streets identified with the Damero de Pizarro, where baroque and neoclassical buildings line the blocks and enclosed wooden balconies extend above the pavements.grid of streets with ornate wooden balconies These balconies, constructed in cedar and other timbers, are a hallmark of Lima’s colonial architecture, many of them cantilevered and resting on carved supports, forming continuous sequences along key streets.

One of the most emblematic thoroughfares is Jirón de la Unión, historically a principal commercial street within the Damero de Pizarro that runs from the Puente de Piedra over the Rímac river towards Paseo de la República Avenue.Jirón de la Unión in the Damero de Pizarro Along its length, façades with projecting balconies, arcades and shopfronts reflect layers of urban life, from viceregal residences to twentieth-century commercial premises, and it links the core of the historic centre with wider parts of the city.

Visiting Centro Historico de Lima: what travellers from Western Europe should know

• Centro Historico de Lima lies in central Lima on the Rímac river, with Plaza Mayor, the Government Palace and the Cathedral forming a compact cluster reached by city streets and public transport.
• Moving between landmarks such as Plaza Mayor and Jirón de la Unión involves walking along paved streets and across broad squares, with some interiors, including churches and convents, accessed by staircases.
• The official language is Spanish and the currency is the Peruvian sol.
• Entry requirements depend on your nationality; UK travellers can check the FCDO travel advice at gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice, Irish travellers the Department of Foreign Affairs at ireland.ie.

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Frequently asked questions about Centro Historico de Lima

Where is Centro Historico de Lima located?

Centro Historico de Lima is situated in the central districts of Lima and Rímac, on both sides of the Rímac river in coastal Peru.located in Lima and Rímac districts

What can visitors expect on a visit to Centro Historico de Lima?

Visitors encounter a planned grid of streets, major squares such as Plaza Mayor, and a concentration of colonial and republican buildings with projecting wooden balconies and prominent civic and religious façades.grid of streets with colonial buildings

What makes Centro Historico de Lima distinctive among historic city centres?

The ensemble of national government, cathedral, archbishop’s residence and city hall lining a single square, combined with extensive balcony-lined streets in the Damero de Pizarro, gives Centro Historico de Lima a strongly defined colonial character.Damero de Pizarro and historic ensemble