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BARRANCO , a quieter place than Miraflores, is easily reached by taking any bus or colectivo along Diagonal. Overlooking the ocean, and scattered with old mansions as well as fascinating smaller homes, this was the capital's seaside resort during the last century and is now a kind of Limeno Left Bank, with young artists and intellectuals taking over many of the older properties. There's little to see specifically, though you may want to take a look at the cliff-top remains of a funicular rail-line, which used to carry aristocratic families from the summer resort down to the beach; also there's a pleasant, well-kept municipal park, where you can while away the afternoon beneath the trees. One block inland of the funicular, an impressive white church sits on the cliff with gardens to the front, beside the Puente de Suspiros, an attractive wooden bridge crossing a gully filled with exotic dwellings. Worth a browse is the Museum of Electricity , Pedro Osma 105 (daily 9am-5pm; free), which displays a wide range of early electrical appliances and generating techniques. Otherwise the main joy of Barranco is its bars, clubs and cafes clustered around the small but attractive Plaza Municipal de Barranco , which buzz with frenetic energy after dark whilst retaining much of the area's original charm and character. Down beside the pounding rollers, the COSTA VERDE , so named because of vegetation clinging to the steep sandy cliffs, marks the edge of a continent. A bumpy road follows the shore from an exclusive yacht club and the Chorrillos fishermen's wharf, past both Barranco and Miraflores, almost to the suburb of Magdelena. The sea is cold and not too clean - and there's nothing here really, other than sand, pebbles, a couple of beach clubs, a few restaurants, and a resident surfing crowd. But Lima would seem sparse without it and swimming in the surf is as good a way as any to extend a day mooching about Barranco and Miraflores. As everywhere in Lima, however, keep a sharp eye on your clothes and valuables.
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