Miraflores is a trendy, residential and upscale shopping district overlooking the Pacific Ocean south of downtown Lima, Peru. Its popularity is partly due to its beautiful seaside location where hundreds of surfers come to enjoy its large swells.
Although the coastline itself is a bit rockier compared to the beaches of Peru to the south, it is still a popular destination for a day spent relaxing on the beach or taking surf lessons. It is also considered the safest district in the city of Lima which enables travelers like us to take strolls throughout Miraflores and find plenty of things to do.
The boardwalk, known as the Malecón Verde, provides many things to do in Miraflores as it stretches along the seaside and has cliffs with intermittent series of small parks along the way in which you can either walk your dog at one of the various dog parks, workout at one of the outdoor gyms overlooking the sea, sneak in an afternoon nap on one of the park benches, have a picnic with a view in one of the many grassy areas along the way, or just enjoy the many statues and sculptures by various artists along the way.
On your walk along the Malecón, be sure to stop at Love Park and see the statue of the two lovers embracing and try and find your name engraved on the wall of love. For the adventurers out there…just beyond Love Park, you will find Raimondi Park which is a launch site for tandem paragliding.
If you are a foodie, Miraflores has a plethora of amazing restaurants to choose from. During our short stay, we dined at the famous La Mar. This cevichería has an open-air concept, exceptional service, and serves sushi, ceviche, and different types of causas. The great thing about this cevichería is that they have a vegetarian option for most of their items on the menu. The fish are displayed on ice at the front bar if you would like to see what you are about to eat prior to consuming it and the servers are more than happy to explain the difference between the fish to you.
We also ate La Nevera Fit Café. This café by far has been my favorite thus far during our travels based on their menu options, quality of food, service, and ambiance. The café had many different options when it came to both coffee and tea (both hot and cold), juices, and smoothies.
As for their food options, not only was there a plethora of options to choose from, the majority of the food offered was made fresh to order (with the exception of their homemade pies, tarts, and cookies which were made every morning) and was super healthy. From smoothie bowls, waffles with various fruit and nut butter toppings, fruit parfaits, salads, and oatmeal options, the menu was a vegetarian’s dream come true!
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When it comes to nightlife, the people of Miraflores know how to party! There are many salsa clubs, “video bars”, and pubs with live music. Happy hour usually is from 6-10pm with 2 for 1 drink specials. Although Miraflores is safe, after a night of partying and drinking, I suggest taking an Uber ride home as it is very cheap ($5 USD) and very easy to do.
During our stay, we did venture outside of Miraflores and make our way to downtown Lima where we visited the horse track, The Jockey Club, so we could watch the Kentucky Derby televised, along with live horse races.
Traveled May 2017