Lima

Lima, The city's climate is temperate with equatorial heat moderated by the Pacific Ocean which sweeps cold currents northward along the coast from the Antarctic, often resulting in a heavy fog, known as garúa.

Lima has a population of 6.4 million people who are spread amongst 33 municipal districts and are 90 percent Mestizo; mixed European and Native American. Lima covers about 390 square miles (1010 sq. km), along the Pacific coast for more than 31 miles (50 km, and extending nearly 25 miles (40 km) inland.

Lima was founded in 1535 by the Spanish colonialist Francisco Pizarro with the old city being based around the Plaza de Armas. An earthquake in 1746 destroyed all of the colonial structures on the plaza, which were rebuilt in subsequent decades

Lima's cathedral (begun in 1746) faces the plaza and contains a glass coffin said to hold Pizarro's remains. Adjoining the cathedral is the Archbishop's Palace, which features elegant carved-wood balconies typical of Lima's colonial architecture. The imposing city hall of Metropolitan Lima (the province of Lima) is situated across the plaza, and the Government Palace (1938), home to the country's president, occupies the block between the cathedral and the city hall. The presidential palace was built on the site of Pizarro's house.