While many colonial buildings have succumbed completely to earthquakes, fire, and wear, Lima’s Municipal Palace(City Hall of Lima), which originally dates back to the 17th century, was not lost to history. Venture inside to see opulent symmetrical marble staircases, exquisite vintage architecture, and an impressive library with more than 15,000 titles—as well as a copy of Peru’s Declaration of Independence.
Many small-group and private tours of Lima take in the Municipal Palace and the surrounding historic city center, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Some neighborhood tours are themed—shopping, sightseeing, food, history—and others include archeological sites such as Huaca Pucllana, a pre-Columbian site in Miraflores, and important museums such as the Larco, which holds an extensive collection of pre-Columbian artifacts.