You’ll find a good selection of dedicated art museums in Lima, as well as some interesting private galleries. Collections include pre-Columbian pieces, classic colonial works, modern art, photography, and more.

Of course, you’ll encounter many more works of art in Lima’s history and archaeology museums (the Museo de la Nación, for example) and specialist museums like the Museo de Oro (Gold Museum). However, if you wish to focus specifically on art, consider one of the following museums.

Museo de Arte de Lima (MALI)

The Museo de Arte de Lima (MALI) is housed in the grand Palacio de la Exposición, a Neo-Renaissance palace built in 1871. The museum collection features an extensive array of works from various periods, including pre-Hispanic, colonial, republican, modern, and contemporary.

• Address: Paseo Colón 125 (Parque de la Exposición), Lima
• Phone: (51-1) 204-0000
• Email: informes@mali.pe
• Website: www.mali.pe

Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Lima (MAC Lima)

For far too many years, the Peruvian capital lacked a contemporary art museum. However, in 2013, the new Museo de Arte Contemporáneo (MAC Lima) opened its doors to the public. The MAC houses a growing collection of modern and contemporary art (1950 to the present day), primarily Latin American and European in origin.

• Address: Av. Miguel Grau 1511, Barranco, Lima
• Phone: (51-1) 514-6800
• Email: visitas@maclima.pe
• Website: www.maclima.pe

Museo de Arte de San Marcos

The Museo de Arte de San Marcos, founded in 1970 and situated within the larger Central Cultural de San Marcos (part of the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos), hosts a collection of Peruvian art from various periods. The museum is divided into four principal areas: popular art, portraits, modern and contemporary art, and pintura campesina (rural or “peasant” art).

• Address: Centro Cultural de San Marcos, Avenida Nicolás de Piérola 1222, Parque Universitario, Central Lima
• Phone: (51-1) 619-7000
• Website: ccsm-unmsm.edu.pe/arte

Museo Pedro de Osma

Located in an elegant mansion in Barranco, the Museo Pedro de Osma contains a wealth of colonial art including paintings, sculptures, silverwork, textiles, and exceptionally fine furniture.

• Address: Av. Pedro de Osma 423, Barranco, Lima
• Phone: (51-1) 467-0063
• Email: museo@fundacionosma.org
• Website: www.museopedrodeosma.org

Museo Galería Arte Popular de Ayacucho

The Museo Galería Arte Popular de Ayacucho houses artistic works from the historically and religiously significant city of Ayacucho in southern central Peru. The city is renowned for its plethora of churches and related religious art; you can see fine examples of the latter in the Lima museum.

• Address: Av. Pedro de Osma 116, Barranco, Lima
• Phone: (51-1) 247-0599
• Website: none

Museo de Arte Italiano

Located just north of the Museo de Arte de Lima (MALI) in the Parque de la Exposición, the Museo de Arte Italiano houses a collection of Italian paintings and sculptures from the early twentieth century. Fans of Italian art from this particular period will find joy within the museum, while casual visitors might not be quite as enamored. Furthermore, keep an eye open for temporary exhibitions of major European artists.

• Address: Av. Paseo de la República 250, Central Lima
• Hours: Tuesday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Entrance: adults S/.6, children S/.1
• Phone: (51-1) 321-5622
• Email: museodearteitaliano@mcultura.gob.pe
• Website: there appears to be no official website at the moment, but the museum does have a Facebook page.

Museo de Artes y Tradiciones Populares

The Museo de Artes y Tradiciones Populares hosts an eclectic mix of ethnographic art from Peru. More than 10,000 pieces reside within this largely donated collection, showcasing paintings, ceramics, religious art, and traditional Peruvian retablos (portable boxes containing religious or historic scenes or scenes of everyday life).

• Address: Jirón Camaná 459, Central Lima
• Phone: (51-1) 626-6600
• Email: matp@pucp.edu.pe
• Website: http://ira.pucp.edu.pe/el-instituto/presentacion/

Casa Museo Julia Codesido

Julia Manuela Codesido Estenós (1892-1979) was a leading artist in the so-called indigenista artistic movement of Peru. Codesido lived and worked in what is now the Casa Museo Julia Codesido, where visitors can view a collection of her art while exploring her former studio and surrounding gardens (designed by José Sabogal, another “indigenist” artist and a friend of Codesido).

• Address: Paso de los Andes 500, Pueblo Libre, Lima
• Phone: (51-1) 463-8579
• Website: none

MATE, Asociación Mario Testino

Mario Testino is one of the world’s most famed fashion and celebrity photographers, as well as one of the most prominent figures from Peru. MATE (founded in 2012) exhibits much of Testino’s extensive photography collection, which is now housed in a restored nineteenth-century Republican townhouse in Barranco. Consequently, temporary exhibitions also feature the works of both Peruvian and international artists.

• Address: Av. Pedro de Osma 409, Barranco, Lima
• Phone: (51-1) 251-7755
• Email: info@mate.pe
• Website: www.mate.pe

Museo Enrico Poli Bianchi

This private museum is home to a fine collection of pre-Columbian and colonial art, including ceramics, paintings, gold and silver pieces, furniture, and sculptures. The entrance fee and the need for an appointment may deter some visitors, but it is well worth considering if you’re a true museum fan.

• Address: Lord Cochrane 466, Lima
• Phone: (51-1) 422-2437
• Website: none

Pinacoteca Municipal Ignacio Merino

Established in 1925, the Pinacoteca Municipal Ignacio Merino is now home to one of Peru’s most significant collections of Republican art. The museum holds over 850 pieces by some of the country’s most famous artists, including Pancho Fierro, Ignacio Merino, José Sabogal, and Fernando de Szyszlo.

• Address: Jr. Conde de Superunda 141, third floor of the Lima Municipality building
• Phone: (51-1) 315-1539
• Email: pinacoteca@munlima.gob.pe

Casa Museo Marina Núñez del Prado

The museum showcases the works of Bolivian-born sculptor Marina Núñez del Prado, along with pieces by various other Latin American artists. Many sculptures are displayed in the gardens surrounding the artist’s former residence (now the museum).

• Address: Calle Ántero Aspillaga 300, El Olivar, San Isidro, Lima
• Website: none