CITY OF KINGS

Rich, powerful, beautiful—and cooled by westerlies from the north-flowing Humboldt Current—Lima was the seat of the vice regency of Spain's colonial cities. Built to the 1573 Law of the Indies, which set out strict dictates for every detail of design, construction, and placement of churches and public buildings, Lima flourished with wealth flowing from the silver mines at Potosí. The old city, one of UNESCO's World Heritage treasures, is now surrounded by affluent suburbs and vast slums.