Many people visiting Peru rush through Lima on their way to Machu Picchu and the Inca Trail.

Lima is worth a visit, though, and here is a list of the top 10 things to do in Lima:

1. Visit the Gold Museum, or Museo de Oro, in Lima.

2. Go to the Miraflores area to wander through Kennedy Park and Love Park, and go shopping at Larcomar and Jockey Plaza. Speaking of shopping, don’t miss the boutiques of the San Isidro district. Conquistadores street is particularly good, and there are great restaurants there as well.

3. Visit the Barranco district to see the Puente de los Suspiros bridge and walk through the Municipal Park.

4. Visit the attractions in the Lima city center. Don’t miss the Plaza San Martin, Lima Cathedral, Santo Domingo Church, La Merced Church, the Church of Saint Francis with its great catacombs and museum, the Congress building, San Marcos House, Riva Aguero House, Torre Tagle Palace, and Casa Aliaga.

5. Get a Piscosour at the historic Bolivar Hotel.

6. Watch the illuminated water fountain show at Circuito magico del agua from Wednesday through Sunday evenings.

7. Explore the Callao district with its 17th century fortress, the Fotaleza del Real Felipe.

8. Get up early to take a tour of the San Lorenzo, Fronton, Cavinzas and Palomino Islands.

9. Take a day trip to the Pachacamac Santuary on the Pan-South American Highway.

10. Navigate the newly discovered ruins of Caral, the oldest city in the Americas. It’s just a few hours’ drive from Lima and only recently opened for visits.

If you don’t want to walk all over the city, you can take a city sightseeing bus in Lima. Mirabus Peru and City Sightseeing both offer hop on, hop off bus tours of Lima.

The best hotels in Lima are scattered throughout the city.

Not many visitors fly to Peru to actually stay in Lima.

It’s usually the jumping off point or ending point for trips to Machu Picchu or elsewhere in the Andes.

That doesn’t mean that Lima is not a great place to spend a bit of time though.

If you do stay in Lima, my list of the best hotels in Lima is below.

I’m a big fan of the Miraflores Park Hotel in Lima.

Located in the Miraflores neighborhood, it’s very high quality and upscale.

While rooms at the Miraflores Park Hotel in Lima cost about US$175 a night, it’s money well spent.

Lower down the budget scale, you’ll have to switch neighborhoods to find a nice hotel in Lima.

San Isidro is a nice neighborhood and the Basadre Suites San Isidro hotel is a good choice here. Room rates are around US$100 a night.

There is also a Sheraton San Isidro for under US$100.

A few of the other best hotels in Lima are the Sonesta Posada del Inca El Olivar hotel as well as the Swissotel in Lima where deals can sometimes be had.