With kids · Lima · Peru
Lima with kids
Family-tested sights, a calm base and the practical details that make travelling with children easier.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Miguel Angel Chong, CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answer
Lima suits families with parks along the Malecón, the Magic Water Circuit, adobe pyramids and sea lion boat trips. Mild weather means no extreme heat, but winters are grey and damp. Top picks: Magic Water Circuit, Malecón de Miraflores and Huaca Pucllana. Families usually base themselves in Miraflores.
Key facts
- Family picks
- 6
- Best area for families
- Miraflores
- Rainy-day options
- 0
Best things to do with kids
Park · Parque de la Reserva
1.Magic Water Circuit
Parque de la Reserva holds more than a dozen illuminated fountains, including a tunnel of water and a fountain you can run through. In the evenings, a laser and music show is projected onto a wall of water.
Go in the evening for the light show, and bring a change of clothes if children want to play in the fountains.
- Time needed
- 1.5 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Kids
- After dark
- Couples
- Photo spot
Waterfront · Miraflores
2.Malecón de Miraflores
A chain of parks, gardens and paths along the clifftops of Miraflores, about 80 metres above the Pacific. It is the city's favourite place to walk, jog, cycle and watch the sunset, with the Parque del Amor and its giant 'El Beso' kissing sculpture, and paragliders launching from the cliffs.
Walk or cycle south from Parque del Amor to Barranco for sunset, about 3 km along the cliffs.
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Views
- Couples
- Outdoors
- Kids
Historic site · Miraflores
3.Huaca Pucllana
This large adobe pyramid, built by the Lima culture between about AD 200 and 700, rises in the middle of Miraflores. Guided tours explain its walls of handmade adobe bricks set like books on a shelf, and a restaurant on site looks over the ruins.
Return in the evening for dinner on the restaurant terrace when the pyramid is lit.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Kids
- After dark
Museum · Pueblo Libre
4.Larco Museum
Set in an 18th-century mansion built over a pre-Columbian pyramid, the Larco Museum displays a superb collection of ancient Peruvian ceramics, gold and silver, textiles and its famous gallery of erotic pottery. Visitors can also walk through the storerooms, where tens of thousands of pieces are shelved.
Have lunch or dinner at the museum's garden café, among the bougainvillea.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Iconic
- History
- Art
- Rainy day
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Landmark · Historic Centre
5.Plaza Mayor
Lima's main square, where Francisco Pizarro founded the city in 1535, is lined by the Cathedral, the Archbishop's Palace with its carved wooden balconies, the Government Palace and the City Hall. The bronze fountain at its centre dates from 1650.
Arrive before noon to see the changing of the guard at the Government Palace, which usually takes place around midday.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Free
- Iconic
- Free
- History
- Architecture
Experience · Miraflores
6.Surfing at Costa Verde
Below the cliffs, the Costa Verde coastline has consistent surf breaks such as Makaha and Waikiki in Miraflores, with surf schools offering lessons and wetsuits for beginners. The water is cold all year.
Book a lesson at a surf school on the beach and expect to need a wetsuit even in summer.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Active
- Outdoors
Where families should stay
$$$ · Best for first-timers, families, food lovers and luxury
Miraflores
Miraflores is where most visitors stay: a modern, well-kept district on the cliffs above the Pacific, with the Malecón's chain of parks, Parque Kennedy at its centre and many hotels, restaurants and cafés along Avenida Larco and Avenida José Pardo. Huaca Pucllana and the Larcomar shopping centre are here, and the Metropolitano and Corredor Azul buses run to the centre.
- Good
- Walkable, well-policed streets; Huge choice of hotels and restaurants; Ocean views from the clifftop parks
- Watch out
- Less character than Barranco; 45–60 minutes from the airport in traffic
- Nearby
- Malecón de Miraflores, Parque Kennedy, Huaca Pucllana, Parque del Amor
Family travel tips
- Stay in Miraflores for parks, safe streets and easy access to restaurants.
- The Magic Water Circuit is best in the evening, when the light show runs.
- Children enjoy the sea lions on the Palomino Islands tour.
- Bring sunscreen even on grey days; UV levels are high.
- Pollo a la brasa restaurants are family-friendly and have play areas in some branches.
Day trips for families
- Pachacamac (About 1 hour by car) — A vast pre-Hispanic religious centre in the desert south of the city, used for over a thousand years by successive cultures and later by the Inca, who built a Temple of the Sun here.
- Palomino Islands (About 2 hours by boat from Callao, round trip) — Boat tours from Callao pass the Isla San Lorenzo and reach the Palomino Islands, home to thousands of sea lions.
- Paracas and the Ballestas Islands (About 3.5–4 hours by bus) — The Paracas Reserve's desert coastline and the Ballestas Islands, with sea lions, penguins and seabirds, are reached by speedboat from Paracas.
- Lunahuaná (About 3 hours by road) — A green valley town on the Cañete River known for river rafting, pisco vineyards and crayfish dishes.
When to go with children
The best months overall are December–April. Weather by month.
Questions travellers ask
+Is Lima good for kids?
Lima suits families with parks along the Malecón, the Magic Water Circuit, adobe pyramids and sea lion boat trips. Mild weather means no extreme heat, but winters are grey and damp.
+What can kids do in Lima?
Magic Water Circuit, Malecón de Miraflores, Huaca Pucllana, Larco Museum and Plaza Mayor.
+Where should families stay in Lima?
Miraflores: Clifftop district of parks, hotels, restaurants and the Malecón ocean walk.