Peru - Lonely Planet Publications [60]
Housed in a graceful bank building, the Museo Banco Central de Reserva del Perú (Map; 613-2000, ext 2655; http://museobcr.perucultural.org.pe; cnr Lampa & Ucayali; admission free; 10am-4:30pm Tue-Fri, 10am-1pm Sat & Sun) is a well-presented overview of several millennia of Peruvian art, from pre-Columbian gold and pottery to a selection of 19th- and 20th-century Peruvian canvases. Don’t miss the dozen watercolors by Pancho Fierro, on the top floor, which provide an unparalleled view of dress and class in 19th-century Lima. Identification is required for admittance.
Museo Postal y Filatélico
Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about the Peruvian mail system can be found at the Museo Postal y Filatélico (Postal & Philatelic Museum; Map; 428-0400; Conde de Superunda 170; admission free; 9am-5pm Tue-Fri, 9am-1pm Sat & Sun), next to the main post office.
Museo de la Inquisición
A graceful neoclassical structure facing the Plaza Bolívar houses this diminutive museum (Map; 311-7777, ext 5160; www.congreso.gob.pe/museo.htm; Jirón Junín 548; admission free; 9am-5pm Mon-Fri), where the Spanish Inquisition once plied its trade. In the 1800s, the building was expanded and rebuilt into the Peruvian senate. Today, guests can tour the basement, where morbidly hilarious wax figures are stretched on racks and flogged – to the delight of visiting eight-year-old boys. The old 1st-floor library retains a remarkable baroque wood ceiling. Entry is by half-hour guided tours, conducted in Spanish and English, after which you are free to wander.
Parque de la Muralla
During the 17th century, the heart of Lima was ringed by a muralla (city wall), much of which was torn down in the 1870s, as the city expanded. However, you can view a set of excavated remains at the Parque de la Muralla (Map; 427-4125; Amazonas, btwn Lampa & Av Abancay; admission S1, Wed free; 9am-9pm), where, in addition to the wall, a small on-site museum (with erratic hours) details the development of the city and a few objects.
More interestingly, the park is home to a bronze statue of Francisco Pizarro, created by American sculptor Ramsey MacDonald in the early 20th century. The figure once commanded center stage at the Plaza de Armas, but over the years has been moved around various locations as attitudes toward Pizarro have grown critical. The best part: the figure isn’t even Pizarro – it’s of an anonymous conquistador of the sculptor’s invention. MacDonald made three copies of the statue. One was erected in the US; the other, Spain. The third was donated to the city of Lima after the artist’s death in 1934 (and only after Mexico rejected it). So now, Pizarro – or, more accurately, his proxy – sits at the edge of this park, a silent witness to a daily parade of amorous Peruvian teens.
Jirón de la Unión
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the five pedestrian blocks on Jirón de la Unión (Map), from the Plaza de Armas to Plaza San Martín, was the place to see and be seen. The street has long since lost its aristocratic luster, but the shells of neocolonial and art-deco buildings survive. Watch out for pickpockets who like to work the crowds during street performances.
PLAZA SAN MARTíN
Built in the early 20th century, Plaza San Martín (Map) has come to life in recent years as the city has set about restoring its park and giving the surrounding beaux arts architecture a needed scrubbing. (It is especially lovely in the evenings, when it is illuminated.) The plaza is named for the liberator of Peru, José de San Martín, who sits astride a horse at the center of the plaza. At the base, don’t miss the bronze rendering of Madre Patria, the symbolic mother of Peru. Commissioned in Spain under instruction to give the good lady a crown of flames, nobody thought to iron out the double meaning of the word flame in Spanish (llama), so the hapless craftsmen duly placed a delightful little llama on her head.
The stately Gran Hotel Bolívar (Click here), built in the 1920s, presides over the square from the northwest.
MUSEO ANDRéS DEL CASTILLO
Housed in a pristine 19th-century