Lima: Central Market, Catacombs & Historic Center Tour Pickup

4.94

(218 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

“You have to try this,” our guide Diego grinned, handing me something that looked suspiciously like purple corn juice. The Central Market in Lima is loud — not just the vendors calling out prices but the clatter of knives on fish scales, the spicy smell of ají peppers mixing with fruit I couldn’t name. I tried to ask for ‘chirimoya’ in Spanish and got a smile from an old woman behind her stall; she corrected my accent with a wink. It’s funny how food can make you feel both lost and welcomed at the same time.

We ducked out into the sunlight again, following Diego past old balconies tangled with wires and street art that looked like it had stories of its own. The Church and Convent of Saint Francis loomed up — pale stone against a sky that kept threatening rain but never quite delivered. Inside, it was cool and smelled faintly musty, like old paper and candle wax. The catacombs were darker than I expected; bones stacked in strange patterns, and Diego whispered that more than 25,000 people were buried here. Someone behind us gasped — maybe it was me.

The walk through Jiron de la Union was a blur of shoe shiners tapping their brushes, teenagers laughing too loudly, shop windows reflecting everyone back at themselves. We paused at the Main Square (Plaza Mayor), where government buildings stood stiff as if they were holding their breath. Then San Martín Plaza — people spilling across the stones, couples sitting close on benches under giant palms. Diego told us about Peru’s independence right there, his voice almost lost in the city noise. I still think about how alive everything felt — even the quiet moments had their own pulse.