GET TO KNOW THE BARRIO

STAY

Hotel B This French-style mansion, formerly a beach house for the upper-crust Rey family, stands on a promenade within sight of the Pacific (feel those breezes!). Highlights include the polite and personable service; the airy, highceilinged rooms; and the top-flight cocktail bar, the best in the barrio for a classic pisco sour. In short, the B is the bee’s knees. hotelb.pe

EAT & DRINK Juanito

A time-honoured locale on the Plaza de Armas, this cavernous, atmospheric old boozer is lined with theatre posters and its clientele comprises barranquinos young and old, rich and poor, plus hard-up artists and the odd gringo. “You might find a famous writer sitting next to a guy who repairs fridges,” says one regular. (Note: Juanito’s delicious butifarra sandwiches of cured ham and pickled onion are the stuff of legend.) facebook.com/ eljuanitodebarranco Mérito This delightful restaurant, headed by young Venezuelan chefs Juan Luis Martinez and Jose Luis Saumeo, lives up to its name with artful cooking and an affordable daily menu. meritorestaurante.com

SEE

Galeria 80m2 Livia Benavides has her HQ, the most exciting of several contemporary galleries in the barrio, in a rambling old summerhouse on the clifftop promenade where Barranco plummets to the sea. Her artist list represents the cream of Peru’s avant-garde, with big local names Eliana Otta, Ximena Garrido-Lecca, and William Córdova.

Mate At Mario Testino’s museum of his own work, a neocolonial mansion on calle Pedro de Osma, the photographer’s high-gloss images of Kate, Gisele, Madonna – and of Peruvians in traditional attire – look more like high art than ever. mariotestino.com

SHOP Escudo

Chiara Machiavello, a former student at Saint Martin’s in London, specialises in timeless and trend-free designs based on Peruvian fabrics and traditions: “devoted to design, committed to heritage” is the motto sewn into each of her gorgeous garments. facebook.com/escvdo La Zapatería Helping to turn otherwise humdrum Calle Jirón 28 de Julio into the neighbourhood’s hippest little strip, the shoes and boots here are all handmade on the premises. cooperativehandmade.pe