Streets squares and districts to visit Peru

A very beautiful and spacious square, with a nice central fountain, palm trees, the immaculate cathedral in the background and the volcanoes in the distance. Very pleasant to sit there in the sun and watch the time go by. You can also see many locals who take their quarters there. Many photographers (with a film camera!) will offer you to immortalize the moment in front of the fountain with the cathedral in the background.

Once night falls, the cathedral lights up and often musicians bring out their instruments to liven up the early evening.

This is probably the most touristy pedestrian street in the city, but it is not to be missed. When you take Calle del Triunfo and head towards San Blas, it opens onto the Palacio Arzobispal. Very narrow, we go along its high walls and then we pass, at number 451, in front of the famous "stone of the twelve angles" where an Inca is planted to take the picture. Immediately after, on the right, we take the Pasaje Inca Roca where there are two other beautiful walls of the ancient palace of this sovereign. A lot of handicrafts at very cheap prices in this zone.

This majestic square is closed on two sides by arcades where small vendors and shoeshine boys jostle each other. A natural outlet of the Jirón de La Unión, a pedestrian street that connects it to the plaza Mayor, the plaza San Martín is a popular meeting place for young Limenians, around the equestrian statue of the Libertador. It has been renovated and its imposing white buildings give it a certain presence. There is a hotel in its time prestigious, the Bolivar. It is also here that demonstrators gather during protests, which are careful on those days.

This square is one of the oldest in the country. Gently shaded thanks to its many trees (mainly fruit trees), it is a small oasis in the city. The square and its immediate surroundings have preserved some beautiful colonial buildings of interest, such as the headquarters of the Banco Central. It is a perfect place to take a short break and cool off on a bench in the shade. At nightfall, the lighting makes the place more romantic. A nice walk once the evening coolness has settled.

This symbolic square where the meeting between Atahualpa and Pizarro took place, followed by the cowardly execution of the former, is nevertheless one of the most harmonious in the country. At that time, this place was a fortified monument 400 meters long and 200 meters wide and a fortress-like structure called Ushnu. From here began the road between the city of Cajamarca and Baños del Inca. Today, lined with its churches, colonial houses and a small stone fountain from the 18th century, it exudes a quiet and peaceful elegance.

In this quiet square, note the carved colonial porticos and the walls of the Yachayhuasi, or Temple of Knowledge, which form part of the façade of the Las Nazarenas church. We then pass by the Calle de las Siete Culebras and the Casa de las Serpientes. The imposing Casa Cabrera, belonging to the Banco Continental, was built in 1534 and houses the MAP. You can visit the 17th century church of San Antonio Abad,, with its elaborate doorway, as well as the monastery occupied by the luxurious Hotel Monasterio (free admission, see reception).

Its location in the city is such that it was desired by the Spanish conquistador Diego de Almagro. In the center of the square, you can admire the monument of Liberty, a strange baroque marble statue whose genitals are said to have been shortened following a complaint from the nuns, whose convent was just opposite... This square is wide, lined with colored casonas, dressed with palm trees, it is undoubtedly one of the most elegant in the country. On one side the cathedral stands out with its yellow/orange walls.

Along the river, a few late 19th-century villas still bear witness to past prosperity; today, they are well deteriorated and used as warehouses and shops. But major beautification work has been carried out to restore a promenade from which there is a breathtaking view of the Itaya River, which then flows into the Amazon and the floating shanty towns of Belén. As evening falls and it gets (slightly) cooler, the place fills up with passers-by, shows and street vendors. Don't stay there too late alone.

On this plaza de Armas, also called plaza Sucre, the statue of the Libertador, nicely decorated with flowers, occupies the center. With many benches and green gardens, it is imposing. Bordered by the Cathedral, its casonas and its charming arcades, the Plaza Sucre competes with those of Cusco and Lima by its beauty. The Municipality (Jr. Cusco 108), the Prefecture and the University San Cristobal de Huamanga are located here, among elegant buildings carefully arranged under the arcades. Inside the Municipality is the very useful I Peru Tourist Office.

Miraflores, for bullfighting.