bragging rights

THESE UNIQUELY PERUVIAN PLACES DESERVE A SPOT ON YOUR MUST-SEE LIST

MATE

The world’s only permanent exhibition of Mario Testino’s work is in Lima, the photographer’s home town. At MATE gallery (the first two letters of his first and last names), you can wander rooms featuring his memorable shots of Naomi, Kate and co, and view his Alta

Moda exhibition, a series of stunning, colourful portraits of Peruvian women in traditional dress. There’s also a room dedicated to his infamous Vanity Fair photoshoot of Princess Diana taken five months before her death. mate.pe/en

MUSEO DE ARTE CONTEMPORÁNEO

Opened in 2013, MAC is a modern space dedicated to works predominantly by European and Latin American artists, with new exhibitions always opening. The exterior wows just as much as the inside – if you’re penny-pinching, grab a coffee and just sit in the garden. maclima.pe

PARQUE KENNEDY

This park is the place to be in Miraflores any day of the week but especially on the weekend, when there are more buskers about and adorable seniors dancing in the afternoon. It’s also home to more than 100 stray cats, fed and cared for by locals – it’s basically a giant, outdoor cat cafe.

CENTRO HISTÓRICO

The UNESCO World Heritage-listed area is crammed with Spanish Colonial buildings dating back to the 1500s. If you only have time to tour a few, see the Cathedral of Lima, Iglesia de Santo Domingo (said to be the oldest church in the city) and the Monastery of San Francisco (with catacombs discovered in 1943 and a mustbe-seen-to-be-believed library, heaving with around 25,000 antique texts).