Lima Nightlife

Peruvians and 'gringos' can enjoy anything from salsa to Argentinian rock in Lima. Things don't really get going until late, and Lima's nightlife is most vibrant at the weekends. 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 bars and discos in the Larcomar shopping mall dominate Miraflores' nightlife while San Isidro offers a more sophisticated scene. The perennial hotspot is Barranco, which bursts into life on Thursday night and carries on until the early hours of Monday morning. Here a bar can fall out of favour within weeks, so it is always best to ask locals for guidance.

Limeños tend to dress up to go out. The smartest places have a dress code and nightclubs charge an entrance fee. Licensing hours are flexible and the most popular bars are open throughout the night, or for as long as there are customers.

Peruvian culture is part of everyday life, with frequent local festivals colouring the cultural canvass. Painting, dance and song belong to the people and are the way that different regions distinguish themselves. La Candelaria dance troupes of Puno or the marinera dancers from northern Peru, for example, can be seen at peñas (dance shows) all over Lima.

You can buy tickets from the booking agency Teleticket (tel: (01) 610 8888; www.teleticket.com.pe) or from venue box offices. The newspaper El Comercio (http://elcomercio.pe) has daily listings, which are best on Friday. The 'Que Hacer' section of the website has a full list of cultural activities in Lima. The Canal N news channel (channel eight) has a daily culture show called Sentidos, as well as Agenda, its full listings service.