Larco Museum
Museo Larco
A private archaeological museum in an 18th-century viceregal mansion, with 45,000 pre-Columbian artifacts, an open storeroom and the famous erotic ceramics gallery. It is Lima's most worthwhile museum.
The Museo Larco was founded in 1926 by Rafael Larco Hoyle. It sits in an 18th-century viceregal mansion in the Pueblo Libre district, built on top of a pre-Inca pyramid, and its courtyard is covered in bougainvillea year-round. The collection is arranged chronologically across Peru's 5,000 years of civilization: Moche portrait vessels, Nazca polychrome pottery, gold ornaments and huge gold crowns from the Chimú and Lambayeque cultures, and Paracas textiles. The most distinctive feature is the open storeroom, where more than 40,000 ceramic pieces are packed by theme into glass cabinets that you can browse freely. The separate Erotic Gallery (Galería Erótica) displays Moche ceramics with sexual themes and is the museum's signature attraction. Adult admission is about 40 soles (25 soles for students). The multilingual audio guide, including Chinese, costs about 15 soles, and buying tickets online lets you skip the queue. The Café del Museo in the garden is one of Lima's highest-rated restaurants and is ideal for a meal after your visit. Getting there: the museum lies between downtown and Miraflores. An Uber takes about 25 minutes from Miraflores and about 20 minutes from the old town, so schedule it for an afternoon between the two. Allow 2 hours. Photography is allowed inside (no flash).
Opening hours
Daily 09:00–22:00
Nearby sights
- National Museum of Archaeology, Anthropology and History of Peru
- Parque de las Leyendas
- Museo de Arte de Lima (MALI)
- Magic Water Circuit
- Huaca Huallamarca
- Lugar de la Memoria (LUM)
- Plaza San Martín & Jirón de la Unión
- San Francisco Monastery & Catacombs