Peru · Provincia de Lima · Lima
Damero de Pizarro, Lima — Area Guide & Where to Stay
Damero de Pizarro is the founding grid of Lima, the checkerboard of streets laid around the Cathedral of Lima.
About Damero de Pizarro
Where to stay in Damero de Pizarro
Where you base yourself shapes the visit — here's the character of each area.
Sleeping inside the Damero de Pizarro puts you among the oldest streets of Lima. The grid gathers the Cathedral of Lima, the Monastery of San Francisco and a dense run of colonial churches, so days start on foot and museums sit minutes apart. Base yourself here.
Guests who want the historic core over the modern seafront trade beach breezes for the Sagrario Metropolitano de Lima, the Museo de la Inquisición y del Congreso and the shaded benches of the Alameda Chabuca Granda a short walk from the door.
About Damero de Pizarro
What are the main landmarks in Damero de Pizarro?
Churches set the rhythm of the Damero de Pizarro. The Cathedral of Lima faces the main square, the Monastery of San Francisco keeps the underground Catacombs of Lima beneath its cloisters, and the Basilica and Convent of Santo Domingo and the Basilica of Nuestra Señora de la Merced stand a few blocks apart along the grid. Museums fill the gaps.
The Museo de la Inquisición y del Congreso and the Museo del Banco Central de Reserva del Perú carry the civic story, while the Sanctuary of Las Nazarenas and the Church of San Agustín, Lima add their carved altars to the walk.
What is the history of Damero de Pizarro?
Francisco Pizarro traced the Damero de Pizarro when he founded Lima, cutting the ground into a checkerboard of square blocks around a central plaza. The Cathedral of Lima and the surrounding convents rose on those first lots, and the grid held the colonial government, the church and the Museo de la Inquisición y del Congreso within a few walkable streets. The plan endured.
Its regular squares still frame the Casa del Oidor and the oldest facades of the whole quarter.
Where is Damero de Pizarro?
The Damero de Pizarro forms the historic core of Lima, a flat checkerboard of blocks on the south bank of the Rímac that runs from the Cathedral of Lima to the riverside Alameda Chabuca Granda. It keeps a compact footprint. Straight colonial streets tie the Monastery of San Francisco and the Basilica and Convent of Santo Domingo into one walkable grid.
Good for
More areas in Lima
Updated July 2026