Museo Larco, or Museo Rafael Larco Herrera to use its full name, is somewhere you MUST visit when you come to Lima.

It has an incredible collection of pre-Columbian treasures and artefacts, and is a fantastic introduction to coastal Peruvian tribal history including not only the Incas but the tribes that came before or lived alongside them. If you don’t know a lot about the people that inhabited coastal Peru before the Inca reign, then this museum will show and inform you about the Moche culture, the Lima culture, the Huari culture, and much more.

The artefacts here are incredibly well preserved, including jewellery, ritual items, pots, vases and textiles. The main museum gallery is laid out in sections and each section is in chronological order so that you can see the evolution of different tribes and the similarities and differences between their belief systems and ways of life.

Aside from the main gallery you can also visit the storage area containing thousands of archaeological finds in glass cabinets. It is like a maze of different eras of treasures. This storage area is found off of the same small courtyard as the main gallery. Downstairs from the main building is the small erotic gallery, showing sexual representations found in the art and sculpture of that time period.

The museum is housed in a colonial building in the district of Pueblo Libre, and the grounds also contain a beautiful, brightly flowered garden. This garden happens to be the view from the delicious on-site restaurant; Museo Larco Cafe/Restaurant.

On my visit I sat outside on the terrace under a wooden roof covered in climbing plants, flowers and hung with lanterns. The menu is full of mouthwatering sounding dishes, and both the risotto norteño, which comes with duck thighs in an aguaymanto sauce, and the loche squash ravioli  are fantastic. The lucuma mousse is a hit for dessert.

At this time entrance is S/. 30 for entry (less for concessions). You can take your own transport out there or some of the tour bus companies have an option to stop there as part of their Lima tour.

Check out the website for more info!