The Best Museums in Lima
It doesn’t matter if your passion is nature, popular art, or ancient cultures- Lima has a museum for you. In fact, the city has close to fifty museums dedicated to safeguarding and shared 3,000 years of Peruvian history. If you only visit one museum during your time in Peru, it’s best to make it one of the museums in Lima, as most cover all of the country’s regions. Which museum should that be? Here are our top picks:
1. The Larco Museum
Our first pick is unfortunately the most expensive, but it’s also the most sophisticated. This is because it’s a private, not national, institution. The Rafael Larco Herrera Archeological Museum is housed in a gorgeous 18th-century vice-royal mansion which was constructed upon the base of a 7th-century pyramid. It’s most famous attractions include the largest collection of fine gold and silver jewelry used by pre-Columbian rulers and the world’s largest collection of erotic ceramics. It’s one of the only museums in the world which allows visitors to tour its store-rooms as well, with more than 45,000 catalogued archeological objects. The exhibits are carefully arranged and displayed, and there’s also a stylish restaurant and garden.
Location:Av. Simón Bolivar 1515, Pueblo Libre – Lima
Admission: S/. 30 Peruvian soles per adult
2. The Lima Museum of Art (MALI)
The Mali has just reopened its doors to the public after a recent renovation of the building where it’s housed, Exhibition Palace, which is located in lively Exhibition Park (Parque de la Exposición). In its 4,500 meters squared it houses a permanent collection which consists of 1,200 pieces, in a chronological journey through Peruvian art over a 3,000-year period, in a 19th century palace at the beginning of the historical center, on Paseo Colón. Visitors can explore 34 salons, with Precolumbian, colonial, 19th, 20th century art, textiles, photographs, silverwork, drawings.
Location: Parque de la Exposición, Paseo Colon 125, Lima – Lima
Admission: S/. 30 Peruvian soles per non-resident adult
3. Gold of Peru Museum & Arms of the World
Founded by collector Miguel Mujica, this peculiar museum contains more than 8,000 objects, including gold, silver, and platinum pieces as well as textiles, ceramics, mummies, and other valuable pre-Columbian objects. As the name implies, it’s the extensive gold collection which is its main draw. It underwent a huge scandal in 2002 when it was discovered that the museum was displaying many false pieces among its collection. It was forced to publicize this deception and right the ship. Despite this troubled history, the Gold of Peru Museum is worth a visit: the collections have been exhaustively combed over, the remaining pieces are still awe-inspiring, and it offers travelers what they most want: an idea of what the Spanish found when they arrived in Peru. The museum also contains an Arms of the World exhibit showcasing the founder’s collection of arms, war uniforms, horse armor, spurs and other objects.
Location:Jr. Alonso de Molina 1100, Santiago de Surco – Lima
Admission: S/. 33 Peruvian soles per adult
4. The National Archeological Museum
The largest public museum in Lima is the
National Museum of Archeology, Anthropology and History of Peru. It’s the oldest museum of the country, having been founded in 1822. If you’d like to travel through the thousands of years of Peruvian history as experienced through many varied cultures and civilizations from the different regions of Peru, this is the museum for you. If you don’t plan of visiting numerous museums, perhaps one in the Andes, in the jungle, and in the desert coastal region, then you’ll be happy to know that this museum offers it all in one place. It houses an extraordinary collection of pre-Columbian textiles, ceramics, stone, and metal pieces as well as works of art from the Cusco School and historical objects from the colonial and republican periods. This immense museum contains some prized, world-famous treasures, mainly, the Crossed Hands of Kotosh, the Raimondi Stele from Chavín, the Tello Obelisk, and the Paracas Mantles.
This museum is included, along with the Larco museum, in our 3-hour museum tour in Lima.
Location: Plaza Bolivar (No Number), Pueblo Libre – Lima
Admission: S/. 10 Peruvian soles per adult
5. Mario Testino Museum (MATE)
The MATE was founded just a few years ago, to house a permanent collection from Peru’s most famous high-fashion photographer, Mario Testino. Although you’ll see portrait collections of famous personalities such as Princess Diana, travelers are more likely to be enthralled by the Alta Moda exhibit, with striking photographs showcasing the “fashion” of Peruvian traditional and folkloric dress. The gallery also displays temporary exhibitions showcasing other artists, and there’s a café and a tempting gift shop as well. While not large, it’s a pleasant stop in the colorful bohemian neighborhood of Barranco.
Location: Pedro de Osma 409, Barranco – Lima
Admission: S/. 10 Peruvian soles per adult
6. Pre-Columbian Textile Museum (AMANO)
Recently reopened, this museum is 
also known as AMANO and shows a private collection from Japanese businessman Yoshitaro Amano. Founded in 1964, its collection focusses on textile products prior to the arrival of Columbus to the Americas. It’s organized into four salons, which showcase more than 600 pieces. Some of these are more than 900 years old.
Location:Retiro 160, Miraflores – Lima
Admission: S/. 30 Peruvian soles per adult
7. Natural History Museum
Founded in 1918, this museum collects, researches and exhibits another part of the heritage of Peru: flora, fauna, and geological specimens. There are various salons with exhibits spanning the fields of zoology, botany, minerology, and paleontology. In a country which boasts the cold Andes, windy altiplano, the deepest canyons in the world, a valley of volcanoes, the lush Amazon rainforest, a dry desert coast, and massive Lake Titicaca, you won’t be surprised to hear that there’s a lot to learn about.
Location: Arenales 1256, Jesús María – Lima
Admission: S/. 7 Peruvian soles per adult