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City Guide - Lima - Nightlife | ||
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Nightlife Lima's nightlife is buzzing. Bars and clubs are full of young Peruvians and 'gringos' gyrating to anything from salsa to North American rock. The evening doesn't really get going until late and Limeńos tend to dress up to go out. The heart of the city's nightlife is focused in Miraflores, San Isidro and Barranco. The live music bars and clubs around the Parque Kennedy and flashy discos in the Larco Mar shopping mall dominate Miraflores nightlife. San Isidro offers a more sophisticated scene for the maturer swinger. The current hot spot is Barranco, which bursts into life on Friday night and carries on until the early hours of Monday morning. Here a bar can fall out of favour within weeks so ask locals for guidance. The smartest places have a dress code. Nightclubs charge between US$5 and US$10 entrance. There are no strict licensing laws in Peru, which means children are allowed into most bars and cafés. Licensing hours are flexible and the most popular bars are open through the night or for as long as there are customers to serve. Bars: For a taste of an old-fashioned Miraflores bar head to Haiti, Diagonal 160, which, with its large terrace and smoked glass, invokes memories of the Parisian boulevards. It is a good place to enjoy a pisco sour before heading to the nearby cinema. For a relaxing Irish-style pub that is not a ghetto for homesick ex-pats, it's hard to top O'Murphy's, Calle Schell 627, Miraflores, which serves draught beer and has been expanded to include a dance floor and has live music. An honest, spit-and-sawdust Barranco bar is Juanito's, Avenida Grau 274. The place serves beer in pitchers and delicious cured ham sandwiches with onions and chili. The odd, often-inebriated wandering minstrel supplies the music. El Dragon, just behind Barranco's main square, is fast becoming one of the most popular bar/discos. Barranco is also home to several small, 'hole-in-the-wall' bars, which, because of their cheap prices, are favoured by students and die-hard drinkers, who swig back the beer or spirits until they can hardly stand or it is time to go home. Clubs: Bar Kitsch, Avenida Bolognesi 743, Barranco, is for disco lovers. Come and revel in the flowery wallpaper, the impromptu bar dancing and excellent cocktails. It gets packed on Fridays and Saturdays. Much larger and trendier is La Noche, Avenida Bolognesi 307, which has two bars, dozens of tables on two floors and a stage for live music (for which there is a small entry fee). In Miraflores, Tequila Rocks, Calle Diez Canseco 146, is a 1990s-style discotheque that only really gets going after 0200. Before leaving Lima, the visitor should sample at least one salsodromo, a salsa dance club, such as Kimbara, Avenida Republica de Panama 1401, La Victoria. Live music: Lima rocks at the weekend but there is usually something going on during the week too. A cool, mellow jazz evening can be had at Jazz Zone, Avenida La Paz 656, Miraflores, which lays on a variety of bands from blues to experimental jazz. Hard Rock Café, Larco Mar, Miraflores, is on hand to supply head-down US rock while you chomp into your half-pound burger with fries. La Casona de Barranco, Avenida Grau 329, Barranco has good live jazz sessions at the weekend. |