"LIMA PERU" a Lima Travel Page by Jonathan43

I have found Lima to be a very interesting city. I first visited the city in 1994 and left disapointed, yet after 8 years I returned and have found a lot of pleasant changes. I have come to love this city and will return next July.

My first experience of this city was pleasant: the airport has been privatized and is currently being remodeled, the city's main thoroughfares are in good shape and are always surrounded by gardens. Globalization is all over this city, supermarkets, hypermarkets, international restaurants, hotels, casinos, and clubs are opening not only on the smarter parts of the city, but in the lower class areas too, a sign of the growing spending power of the inhabitants of these areas. Benihanas, Chili's, Tony Roma's, Long Horn Grills, TGI Friday's, MC Donalds, Pizza Huts, Burger Kings, and Domino's Pizzas are found all over the capital. Malls are everywhere too, showing off the latest fashions, showing the latest movies, and boasting boutiques such as Tommy Hilfiger, Nautica, Hugo Boss, Christian Dior, Kenneth Cole, and the list goes on... Once abandoned parks have been remodeled and are now dotted with flowers and trees. The once dangerous and abandoned historic center has been--and is still currently--being restored, street vendors who once covered the entire sidewalks have been organized in clean, safe markets, streets have been repaved, buildings restored, and squares and parks remodeled. Chic shops, cafes, and clubs are now opening all over this area. The San Isidro district of the city, once an exclusive residential district... is still an exclusive residential district, but is now also Lima's main financial district, especially in the Corpac section of the district. The wide tree-lined Avenida Canaval y Moreyra and the surrounding areas boasts gleaming towers of intriguing designs--most of the designed by international architects-now house foreign and local firms, as well as international banks such as Citibank, Standard Chartered, Deutchbank, BBVA, and BankBoston. I personally admired the Interbank Tower, a tower that appears to be tilted, which was designed by the Austrian architect, Hans Hollein. Miraflores, the seaside commercial area of Lima is as beautiful as I left it. The Parque Kennedy, a park that marks the center of the city, is one of the best kept parks of the city. Surrounding the park are hundreads of trendy cafes with outdoor dining. Cafe Haiti is the most famous, a hunt of the intelectual class. The Avenida Larco is the "downtown" of the district. This tree-lined avenue is filled with restaurants, boutiques, cafes, book stores, casinos, and clubs. This avenue leads to the ocean and to Larcomar, a great entertainment complex located underground a park and with great views of the ocean. This complex houses clubs, shopping, restaurants, cinemas, bowling, and my favorite...a Dunkin' Donuts outlet.

The city may have changed for the better, however, there are some sectors that are dangerous and I will not recomend. The districts of Ate, Surquillo, San Luis, Rimac, San Martin de Porres, Comas, and Los Olivos, to name some, should be avoided at all times. Don't stay in Downtown Lima, although this area has improved, it is not safe after 8:00 pm. Stay in Miraflores or San Isidro. Never wear any expensive jewelry when visiting downtown Lima. Never trust any stranger that comes up to you and offers you anything. Never wander around the streets after 9:00 pm by yourself. NEVER drink tap water, it is not safe even for Peruvians. Most Peruvians drink either bottled water or purified water. However, when showering or brushing your teeth, don't worry, you can still do it with tap water. Never eat at any informal restaurant by any open air market, you may get sick from food poisoning. Always buy groceries at a supermarket, they are now as cheap as open air markets. Traffic is hell, don't attempt to drive, there is a metro rail system that will be implemented in the next three years, but until then, be patient with traffic, drivers are devils here!