Plaza de Armas

Lima

Lima’s 140-sq-meter Plaza de Armas, also called the Plaza Mayor, was not only the heart of the 16th-century settlement established by Francisco Pizarro, it was a center of the Spaniards’ continent-wide empire. Though not one original building remains, at the center of the plaza is an impressive bronze fountain erected in 1650.

Surrounding the plaza are a number of significant public buildings: to the east is the Palacio Arzobispal, built in 1924 in a colonial style and boasting some of the most exquisite Moorish-style balconies in the city. To the northeast is the block-long Palacio de Gobierno.

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Nearby Lima attractions

1. Palacio Arzobispal

0.06 MILES

This landmark building is the residence of the Archbishop of Lima, and the administrative headquarters of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lima. No…

2. La Catedral de Lima

0.08 MILES

Next to the Palacio Arzobispal, the cathedral resides on the plot of land that Pizarro designated for the city’s first church in 1535. Though it retains a…

3. Choco Museo

0.08 MILES

Housed in a historic 16th-century building where liberator of Peru General San Martín once slept, this cacao museum, with other outlets around the city,…

4. Palacio de Gobierno

0.11 MILES

To the northeast of Plaza de Armas is the block-long Palacio de Gobierno, a grandiose baroque-style building from 1937 that serves as the residence of…

5. Casa Aliaga

0.13 MILES

Innocuously tucked on a side street by the post office, Casa Aliaga stands on land given in 1535 to Jerónimo de Aliaga, one of Pizarro’s followers, and…

6. Museo Central

0.15 MILES

Housed in a graceful bank building, the Museo Central is a well-presented overview of several millennia of Peruvian art, from pre-Columbian gold and…

7. Iglesia de Santo Domingo

0.15 MILES

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8. Instituto Riva-Aguero

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Toward the center of downtown, this traditional casona houses the small Museum of Art & Popular Tradition.

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