In the grey and smoky city that is Lima one neighbourhood stands out by far: Barranco. This bohemian and upcoming district on the southern side along the coastal cliffs of the city overlooking the Pacific ocean is chock-full colourful street art, cute galleries, fancy bars and lush streets. Although we stayed ourselves in Miraflores and I quite liked that neighbourhood, I think in hindsight a night or two in Barranco would have been a lot of fun too.
Here some ideas on what to do in this hipster hood!
- #1 tip: join the free walking tour of Barranco. This tour will also lead you to the area of Chorillos. And you will not be disappointed for sure; it’s the best free walking tour I’ve ever done (out of 20 – 30).
- Get your daily dose of street art at the stairs of Oroya and near the bridge of Ermita x Av. San Martin
- Hold your breath while walking the bridge of sighs and make a wish afterwards. And be careful what you wish for cause you just might get it.
- Gobble up an ice cream of Crème de la Crème while doing some people watching on the main square.
- Go for a pisco sour at the most gorgeous bars of Ayahuasca and Victoria Bar, both colonial mansions.
- Go for a break in between and some bizarre sculpture spotting at Parque Federico Villarreal
- Be amazed by fashion photographer Mario Testino’s best pictures at MATE
- If you have the time, also stroll through the lush garden of the nearby Pedro de Osma Museum. It holds the colonial art collection belonging to Don Pedro de Osma Gildemeister, but it’s mainly the buildings and the flowers that might draw your attention.
- Walk around the (outdoor) galleries at the coolest street of the neighbourhood: Bajado del Baños. This walkway connects Barranco to the Pacific ocean and used to be the way where the fisher boats came in and out. Nowadays you’ll mainly spot the surfers on the road.
- And if you want to see a pretty sunset, again the Bajado del Baños is were you need to be!
