Parque de la Exposición

Parque de la Exposición is a grand nineteenth-century public garden near the historic centre of Lima, laid out for the 1872 international exhibition that gave it its name. With ornamental fountains, statuary and pavilions among mature trees, it is one of the oldest and most elegant green spaces in the Peruvian capital.

Its significance is cultural and historic. The park was created to showcase the nation's progress and has retained its formal European character despite the turbulence of the War of the Pacific, when occupying forces removed some of its ornaments. Its centrepiece Byzantine pavilion and the Moorish gazebo survive as fine examples of the period's taste, and the grounds now host the Museo de Arte de Lima, the city's principal art museum, in a restored exhibition palace.

The park lies just south of the colonial core, beside the Paseo de la República and within walking distance of the Plaza San Martín and the old city. It forms part of a belt of gardens that includes the neighbouring Parque de la Reserva with its illuminated fountains, making the area a green corridor amid the dense downtown.

For visitors, it offers art, shade and calm. Wander the tree-lined avenues and fountains, visit the art museum's collections spanning pre-Columbian to contemporary Peruvian work, and rest on a bench away from the traffic. Entry to the park is free, while the museum charges a modest fee and closes on some days. An open-air theatre and a Japanese garden add further interest. Well suited to families and easy to combine with the historic centre, this dignified park gives travellers a restful, cultured counterpoint to the bustle of central Lima and a window onto the city's confident nineteenth-century aspirations.