
Villa Barranco
Classic romance
Lima's Pacific coast
Painted the near robin’s-egg blue of a Tiffany’s box, Villa Barranco is a stay you’ll be just as eager to get inside – a restored 1920s republican house that’s been painstakingly polished, buffed and embellished into a charming boutique hotel for the now. Local craftspeople were called upon to repair a mosaic frieze, stuccoes, graceful balconies and French terracotta roof tiles; while within – wanting to keep the villa from looking like a time capsule – designers spent a year and a half sourcing sleek contemporary pieces, Limeño crafts and just the right amount of eye-catching antiques and artwork. Now, taking on all the bohemian romance and street-art-splattered cool of its same-name neighbourhood, it’s a proposal you’ll undoubtedly say ‘yes’ to.
Planes
The closest airport to the hotel is Jorge Chavez International, a 40-minute drive away. There are direct routes across North and South America and some stretching over to Europe. Private transfers can be arranged from PEN90 (around US$25).
Automobiles
Do you know how to play the horn? You may well after driving in Lima – it’s the language of cars in the city, whether you’re warning a pedestrian that you’re coming or alerting someone to the light turning green. If you must drive, go confidently and match the energy of your fellow roadsters; and there’s a free car park about 50 metres from the hotel. But, for a greener and serene-r way of getting about, download the Moovit app to navigate bus routes.
Worth Getting Out of Bed For
Barranco is one of Lima’s most colourful and romantic districts and was once separate from the city as a beach retreat for wealthy residents, so has a distinct personality. The city’s creatives gravitate here, and walls are plastered with imaginative street art, rainbow-hued colonial mansions have been turned into bars and you can pick up artworks from folk to modern. First, wander hand in hand through the Parque Municipal, which has artful flower beds, and then over the Bridge of Sighs; it’s not quite as storied or grand as the one in Venice, but it has inspired songs and paintings over the years. Pause for photos by La Ermita and La Catedral – the district’s two saffron-hued religious monuments. Art is all around you here, with graffitists going all out on the district’s walls – you can book a street-art tour, but for free you can get your fill by just pounding pavements. Otherwise, hit up the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo (AKA MAC Lima), which – alongside through-provoking pieces – has a peaceful park around it and a lively programme of events. Or go further back at Museo Pedro de Osma, with a colonial-era collection in a century-old mansion, and way back at Museo Larco, which houses silver, gold and pottery from the ancients, and has an eyebrow-raising gallery dedicated to erotica. Once you’ve stopped clutching your pearls, buy some mod Peruvian jewellery and more (ceramics, handmade kids’ toys, handwoven hats, mini ‘altarpieces’) at concept store Dédalo, and avant-garde threads at Pulga. And then chill out on the beach, which you can access through the park – as the only capital city in South America on the Pacific coast, the sunsets are really something here, and dancers take to the Malecón around this time. And beyond the borough, see performers in Plaza de Armas, the city’s main square, scramble over pre-Incan pyramid Huaca Pucllana (Machu Picchu is a smidge too far for a day-trip), and paraglide along the coast.














