Must-see
Asunción · Asunción (Distrito Capital)
Palacio de López (Palacio de Gobierno)
The palace Carlos Antonio López had built for his son, now the seat of the executive branch overlooking the bay.
1 km1 hour
FF MM · CC BY-SA 4.0Cities · Asunción (Distrito Capital) · Asunción, the capital
Asunción
Nuestra Señora Santa María de la Asunción was born on August 15, 1537, as a fort beside a bay on the Paraguay River, making it one of the oldest cities in South America. It is known as the "Mother of Cities" because the expeditions that founded Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Santa Fe, Buenos Aires and Corrientes all set out from here. Today it blends 19th-century palaces, museums of Indigenous art, a market where Guaraní is the everyday language, sunsets along the Costanera riverfront and nights that start late.
1 km from Asunción · ≈ 10 min
What to see
Must-see
Asunción · Asunción (Distrito Capital)
Panteón Nacional de los Héroes y Oratorio de la Virgen de la Asunción
The domed shrine where the great names of Paraguayan history rest, watched over by soldiers in full dress uniform.
30 min – 1 hour
Asunción · Asunción (Distrito Capital)
Plaza de los Héroes y calle Palma (centro histórico)
The main square and downtown's shopping street: handicrafts, a Saturday street fair and buildings that tell a century of stories.
Half a day
Must-see
Asunción · Asunción (Distrito Capital)
Museo Casa de la Independencia
The colonial house where Paraguay's independence was plotted on the night of May 14, 1811.
1 hour
Asunción · Asunción (Distrito Capital)
Catedral Metropolitana de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción
Seat of the first bishopric in the Río de la Plata region, with a silver-clad high altar and a neoclassical façade.
1 hour
Asunción · Asunción (Distrito Capital)
Cabildo – Centro Cultural de la República y Palacio Legislativo
The old neoclassical town hall, now a free museum of art, music and history facing the bay.
1–2 hours
Asunción · Asunción (Distrito Capital)
Centro Cultural de la Ciudad Manzana de la Rivera y Casa Viola
An entire block of historic houses facing the Palace, including Casa Viola, the oldest in Asunción.
1 km1–2 hours
Must-see
Asunción · Asunción (Distrito Capital)
Costanera de Asunción
Kilometers of waterfront promenade along the bay for walking, cycling and watching the sun set over the Chaco.
1 km2–3 hours
Must-see
Asunción · Asunción (Distrito Capital)
Barrio Loma San Jerónimo
Asunción's first official tourist neighborhood: colorful little houses, stairways, murals and home cooking on a hill by the river.
2 km2–3 hours
Must-see
Asunción · Asunción (Distrito Capital)
Mercado 4 (Mercado Municipal N.º 4)
Asunción's biggest and most chaotic market: herbs for tereré, no-frills eateries, Guaraní and haggling in every aisle.
3 km2–3 hours
Must-see
Asunción · Asunción (Distrito Capital)
Centro de Artes Visuales / Museo del Barro
The country's finest museum: Indigenous, folk and contemporary Paraguayan art under one roof.
9 km2–3 hours
Must-see
Asunción · Asunción (Distrito Capital)
Villa Morra, Paseo Carmelitas y el eje Aviadores del Chaco
Modern Asunción: restaurants, bars, malls and hotels along tree-lined avenues.
7 kmHalf a day
Asunción · Asunción (Distrito Capital)
Teatro Municipal Ignacio A. Pane
Asunción's oldest theater, with a horseshoe-shaped hall for 700 people and performances year-round.
2–3 hours (performance)
Asunción · Asunción (Distrito Capital)
Iglesia de la Encarnación
A monumental, unfinished church on a downtown hill, with a dome, a pipe organ and a museum devoted to Pope Francis.
1 km30 min – 1 hour
Asunción · Asunción (Distrito Capital)
Museo de las Memorias: Dictadura y Derechos Humanos
The former "Técnica," a detention and torture center under the Stroessner dictatorship, now a museum of memory.
1 km1 hour
Asunción · Asunción (Distrito Capital)
Museo de Arte Sacro (Fundación Nicolás Darío Latourrette Bo)
17th- and 18th-century Hispano-Guaraní Baroque carvings in an elegant early-20th-century mansion.
1 km1–2 hours
Asunción · Asunción (Distrito Capital)
Antigua Estación Central del Ferrocarril (Estación San Francisco) y Plaza Uruguaya
One of South America's first train stations, with vintage locomotives facing a leafy square.
1 km1–2 hours
Asunción · Asunción (Distrito Capital)
Museo Etnográfico Dr. Andrés Barbero
The country's most important archaeological and ethnographic collections, in a free and little-known museum.
1 km1 hour
Asunción · Asunción (Distrito Capital)
Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes
The country's first art collection, born of a collector's dream in 1909.
2 km1–2 hours
Asunción · Asunción (Distrito Capital)
Cementerio de la Recoleta
Paraguay's first public cemetery, still in use: an open-air museum of mausoleums and famous figures.
6 km1–2 hours
Asunción · Asunción (Distrito Capital)
Jardín Botánico y Zoológico de Asunción
The capital's great green lung: woodland, a South American zoo and the country house of Carlos Antonio López.
10 kmHalf a day
Asunción · Asunción (Distrito Capital)
Bahía de Asunción y Reserva Ecológica Banco San Miguel
The bay where Asunción was born is now a sanctuary for shorebirds that fly in from the Arctic.
4 km2–3 hours
Asunción · Asunción (Distrito Capital)
Parque Guasu Metropolitano
A great 125-hectare green lung on the edge of the city, next to Parque Ñu Guasu.
13 km2–3 hours
Asunción · Asunción (Distrito Capital)
15 de agosto: Fundación de Asunción y fiesta de la Virgen de la Asunción
The Mother of Cities' birthday coincides with the feast of its patron saint: a national holiday with Mass and cultural events.
1 day
Asunción · Asunción (Distrito Capital)
Fiestas de San Juan (San Juan ára) en Asunción
June smells of chipa and kerosene: fire games, traditional food and music in every neighborhood.
2–3 hours
Asunción · Asunción (Distrito Capital)
Oktoberfest en Asunción
Draft beer, sausages and Bavarian bands by the river: Paraguay's German heritage is celebrated every October.
1 km2–3 hours
Festivals
Apr
International Jazz Day in Asunción
Jazz concerts at cultural centers and stages around the capital to celebrate the genre’s world day.
MusicAsunción, Asunción (Distrito Capital)May→ JunAsunción International Book Fair (FIL)
Ten days of books, authors and language: the country’s great literary festival, with free entry and a guest country.
CulturalAsunción, Asunción (Distrito Capital)FeaturedMayIndependence Days (May 14 and 15)
Two public holidays for the 1811 independence: flags, ceremonies, sopa paraguaya and chipa guasu all over the country.
CulturalAsunción, Asunción (Distrito Capital)AugAugust 1: National Carrulim Day
On the first day of August people drink carrulim—cane liquor, rue and lemon—to ward off the ills of the most dreaded month.
TraditionAsunción y todo el país, VariosAugAugust 15: Founding of Asunción and Feast of Our Lady of the Assumption
The birthday of the Mother of Cities coincides with the feast of its patron saint: Mass at the Cathedral, a public holiday and cultural events.
ReligiousAsunción, Asunción (Distrito Capital)FeaturedAugParaguay Rembi’u Food Festival
Cooks from dozens of towns bring more than eighty regional dishes to the capital, cooked on the spot, with free entry.
FoodAsunción, Asunción (Distrito Capital)15AugNuestra Señora de la Asunción · Asunción
Main Mass and a procession of the city's patroness and «Mariscala» (Marshal) from the Cathedral; coincides with the founding anniversary.
Patron saintAsunción, AsunciónFeaturedOctASUFICC – Asunción International Contemporary Film Festival
Paraguayan and international art-house cinema at cultural centers in the capital, with screenings and filmmaker Q&As.
CulturalAsunción, Asunción (Distrito Capital)OctAsunción Oktoberfest
Draft beer, sausages and Bavarian bands by the river: Paraguay’s German heritage is celebrated in the capital every October.
Heritage communitiesAsunción, Asunción (Distrito Capital)FeaturedNovNight of Museums
Museums and historic sites open for free at night: the best excuse to explore downtown Asunción in a different light.
CulturalAsunción, Asunción (Distrito Capital)Where to stay
Hotel
Hotel Guaraní
A renovated icon of modernist architecture, opened in 1961 right in the heart of downtown: perfect for exploring the historic center on foot.
₲₲₲
Hotel
Palmaroga Hotel
A hotel of around a hundred rooms on Calle Palma, downtown's pedestrian shopping street, blending old and new; it is now booked through Hilton.
₲₲₲
Hotel
Granados Park Hotel
A classic downtown hotel one block from Calle Palma and close to the House of Independence; convenient for getting around on foot.
₲₲₲
Hotel
Gran Hotel del Paraguay
A 19th-century mansion where Madame Lynch once lived, now a hotel surrounded by gardens: living history just minutes from downtown.
₲₲₲
Hotel
Sheraton Asunción Hotel
An international chain hotel on Avenida Aviadores del Chaco, Asunción's hub of shopping malls, restaurants and offices.
₲₲₲
Hotel
Crowne Plaza Asunción
A downtown chain hotel on Calle Cerro Corá, a few blocks from Plaza Uruguaya and the historic quarter.
₲₲₲
Hotel
Aloft Asunción
A modern Marriott hotel on Aviadores del Chaco with a youthful vibe, in the city's shopping and office district.
₲₲₲
Hotel
Hilton Garden Inn Asunción Aviadores del Chaco
A chain hotel in the Aviadores del Chaco business district, practical for work trips and short stopovers.
₲₲₲
Hotel
Paramanta Lifestyle Hotel
A hotel with spacious, tree-filled gardens on Aviadores del Chaco: a green oasis in the most modern part of the city.
₲₲₲
Boutique
La Misión Hotel Boutique
A themed boutique hotel in Villa Morra, with nods to the style of the Jesuit missions and a chef-driven restaurant.
₲₲₲
Boutique
La Casona Hotel Boutique
A boutique hotel in the quiet residential area of Villa Morra, a few blocks from restaurants and shopping malls.
₲₲₲
Boutique
Casa Corbellani
A boutique hotel with just five rooms on Avenida España, a boulevard of grand old houses and embassies between downtown and Villa Morra.
₲₲₲
Hotel
Hotel Westfalenhaus
A German-flavored, family-run hotel in a residential neighborhood north of Villa Morra, with a Paraguayan-German restaurant.
₲₲₲
Hotel
Hotel Cecilia
A traditional downtown hotel on Calle Estados Unidos, a few blocks from Plaza Uruguaya.
₲₲₲
Hostel
El Viajero Hostel Asunción
A licensed hostel in the heart of the historic center, with shared dorms, a communal kitchen and a pool; a favorite meeting point for backpackers.
₲₲₲
Boutique
Palmaroga Hotel Asunción, Tapestry Collection by Hilton
A restored 1901 historic building downtown, a few blocks from the government buildings; part of Hilton's Tapestry Collection.
₲₲₲
Hostel
El Nómada Hostel Asunción
A long-running downtown hostel (on Calle Iturbe) with a pool and shared kitchen.
₲₲₲
Where to eat
Restaurant
El Bolsi
A downtown institution since 1960, in a heritage building: empanadas, vori vori, sopa paraguaya and surubí.
₲₲₲
Diner
Lido Bar
A counter-service copetín since 1953; since 2022 it has stood across from the Cathedral (Independencia Nacional and El Paraguayo Independiente): pira caldo, empanadas and villarroel (breaded chicken). There is a second branch at Manzana T (Villa Morra).
₲₲₲
Bar
Bar San Roque
A historic bar founded in 1900: bife koygua, sopa paraguaya and German classics such as sauerkraut with sausages.
₲₲₲
Market
Mercado 4
No-frills eateries serving vori vori and daily specials, plus yuyeras (herb sellers) crushing pohã ñana to order.
₲₲₲
Diner
Ña Eustaquia (sucursal Palma)
A family-run chain of traditional food with more than 15 locations: handy for grabbing chipa and sopa paraguaya on the go.
₲₲₲
Café
El Café de Acá (Villa Morra)
A grand old house with a leafy patio: filled mbeju, chipas, tortillitas, pastel mandi'o, cocido and tereré.
₲₲₲
Restaurant
Pakuri
Chef-driven cooking with native ingredients and a tatakua (traditional clay oven); on the 50 Best Discovery list. Book ahead.
₲₲₲
Restaurant
Cocina Clandestina
Seasonal contemporary Paraguayan cooking with no fixed menu: traditional recipes reimagined with local produce.
₲₲₲
Restaurant
Tierra Colorada Gastro
Chef Rodolfo Angenscheidt’s modern Paraguayan cuisine: cassava, surubí and local meats. It made Latin America’s 50 Best list in 2016 (No. 47). Check opening hours before you go.
₲₲₲
Restaurant
OGA
Non-traditional Paraguayan cooking in sharing plates, with a seasonal menu; open Tuesday to Saturday evenings.
₲₲₲
Restaurant
La Finca Misionera
The food of Misiones in the capital: asado a la estaca, chastaca, batiburrillo, chorizo sanjuanino and chipa guasu.
₲₲₲
Grill
La Paraguayita
A traditional bar since 1977: mixed grill, rotisserie chicken, lomitos (steak sandwiches), chipa guasu, sopa paraguaya and corn on the cob.
₲₲₲
Restaurant
Puerto Pira
River cuisine: surubí, pacú and other regional species, in classic riverside recipes or contemporary takes.
₲₲₲
Bar
Sajonia Brewing Co.
A pioneering craft brewery (2011) in the Sajonia neighborhood; try the India Brown Ale that won an award in 2025.
₲₲₲
Grill
La María Cocina y Carbón
Everyday Paraguayan cooking and charcoal-grilled asado downtown, made with local produce.
₲₲₲