Capital of Peru with close to 10 million inhabitants and a surface area of 2,664.67 km2, it is one of the most sprawling cities built in a desert. Lima can be disorienting for the newly arrived visitor. Indeed, the city presents the face of many developing-world capitals: unfinished brick or breeze-block houses. And yet, venture a little further into the city, and it reveals a wealth of riches — fine museums, gastronomy, architecture, colourful streets… Lima was founded on 18 January 1535 by the Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro, under the name “la Ciudad de los Reyes”: “the City of Kings”. Its Historic Centre, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991, houses monuments blending the craftsmanship of New World artisans with the art of Old World masters.
