Lima Hotels

Lima is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, on a coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It forms a contiguous urban area with the seaport of Callao. Lima is the 5th largest city in Latin America, behind Mexico City, São Paulo, Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro. Lima was founded by Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro on January 18, 1535, as La Ciudad de los Reyes, or "The City of Kings." It became the most important city in the Spanish Viceroyalty of Peru and, after the Peruvian War of Independence, was made the capital of the Republic of Peru. Today around one-third of the Peruvian population lives in the metropolitan area. Millions of inhabitants crowd into Peru's frenetic capital, giving it an edge few other South American cities have. Its shantytowns look like the developing world, yet the business districts and promenades of its seaside suburbs are Europe away from home. Overpopulation problems have earned this fast-moving metropolis a reputation as a polluted, frenetic and dangerous place. Yet in no time it can transport you from crumbling pre-Inca pyramids and the waning splendor of Spanish colonial architecture to glitzy, ultramodern shopping malls and many of the country's best museums. You can feast on fresh seafood by the ocean, go paragliding off the cliffs in Miraflores and groove all night in bohemian Barranco's bars and clubs.