Lima is beautiful!
A population of 8 000 000 makes it incredibly massive, but it's definitely worth exploring. Chinatown, the biggest market I've ever seen in my life, endless restaurants, bars, and cafes, huge architectural buildings that are hundreds of years old, churches, shops and stalls selling old handicrafts right next to high-end retail...breathtaking. The policemen that patrol every single street are very, very friendly (a guy in a tank guarding the Peruvian equivalent of the Whitehouse even let me take a picture of him, and smiled for it!) and say "Hola, que tal?" as you pass, and answer any questions you may have about directions or the city very willingly.
I honestly think that if I were to study college in South America, I could very easily choose Lima. Plus I happened to find the very best bakery-slash-pastry-place in the universe just 5 minutes from the hostel!
After all the rumors I've heard by most backpackers about Lima being the dirtiest most dangerous city around, I was surprised by what I found downtown or in the "Central" neighborhood. Overall, I've found it to be as safe as any other major city, more friendly, and totally clean. So to everyone thinking of skipping it on your way through Peru at the advice of other travelers: don't! Give it a chance, I wasn't disappointed :)
