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
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)
Plaza Independencia (plazas de Armas, Juan de Salazar y del Congreso)
The big group of squares in the historic centre, ringed by the cathedral, cabildo, congress and theatre; national heritage since 2019.
45 minutes to 1 hour
Asunción · Asunción (Distrito Capital)
Instituto de Historia y Museo Militar
Flags, weapons and uniforms from the War of the Triple Alliance and the Chaco War, with free admission.
3 km1 hour
Asunción · Asunción (Distrito Capital)
Parque Caballero y Museo Histórico General Bernardino Caballero
A municipal park from 1926 on former president Caballero's country estate, with a museum in his house and a viewpoint.
2 km1 to 2 hours
Asunción (barrio Jukyty, límite con Lambaré) · Asunción (Distrito Capital)
Cerro Lambaré y Monumento a la Paz Victoriosa
A 156 m volcanic hill above the Paraguay River, crowned by a large monument and with open views toward the bay.
8 km1 to 2 hours
Asunción · Asunción (Distrito Capital)
Biblioteca Nacional del Paraguay
The country's public library, founded in 1887, with documents and newspapers going back to the 18th century.
3 km1 hour
UNESCO
Asunción · Asunción (Distrito Capital)
Museo de la Justicia y Archivos del Terror
The Stroessner-era police archive, found in 1992 and recognised by UNESCO, now kept in Asunción.
3 km1 hour
Asunción · Asunción (Distrito Capital)
Iglesia de San Roque
One of Asunción's oldest parishes, with roots in 1606, next to Plaza Uruguaya.
1 km30 minutes
Asunción · Asunción (Distrito Capital)
Templo Masónico de la calle Palma
An early 20th-century building on Calle Palma, open to the public since 2009 and restored in 2018.
1 km45 minutes
Asunción · Asunción (Distrito Capital)
Mercado de Abasto de Asunción
The capital's biggest municipal market: 11 hectares of fruit, vegetables, meat, medicinal herbs and much more.
7 km1 to 2 hours
Asunción / Nueva Asunción (ex Chaco'i) · Presidente Hayes
Puente Héroes del Chaco
A cable-stayed bridge opened in 2024 between Asunción and Nueva Asunción, with a bike path and pedestrian walkway.
15 km30 minutes
Festivals
Feb→ Mar
Expo Tereré
Craft fair in Plaza de la Democracia with guampas, bombillas, thermos flasks and workshops celebrating tereré.
FairAsunción, Distrito CapitalMar→ AprSemana del Teatro (CEPATE)
A week of Paraguayan plays with free admission in Asunción venues, organized by the Paraguayan Theatre Centre.
CulturalAsunción, Distrito CapitalMar→ AprDanza Joven (Jeroky Pyahu)
Free programme of workshops and Paraguayan dance performances by the National Folk Ballet, aimed at students.
CulturalAsunción, Distrito CapitalAprInternational 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)JunFiesta Italiana en Paraguay
Music, dance, regional costumes and Italian food at Plaza Italia, with a charity-donation entry.
Heritage communitiesAsunción, Distrito CapitalAugAugust 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)AugSemana de la Guarania y Festival Nacional de la Guarania
More than 40 free activities for Guarania Day on 27 August, in Asunción and other cities.
CulturalAsunción (y otras ciudades), Distrito CapitalAugExpo Folklore (feria artesanal del Día del Folklore)
National crafts fair in Plaza de la Democracia, with ñandutí, ao po'i, tooled leather and carvings.
FairAsunción, Distrito Capital15AugNuestra 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)Oct→ NovFestival Mundial del Arpa
Free Paraguayan harp concerts in Asunción theatres, with harpists from Paraguay and around the world.
FestivalAsunción, Distrito CapitalFeaturedNovNight 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)NovSemana de la Cultura (Día Nacional de la Cultura)
A free week of music, fairs, open museums and workshops in Asunción's Historic Centre.
CulturalAsunción, Distrito CapitalDecSoMOs, feria nacional de artesanía popular e indígena
More than 150 artisans from across the country show and sell popular and Indigenous crafts, with free entry.
FairAsunción, Distrito CapitalWhere to eat
Market
Mercado 4
No-frills eateries serving vori vori and daily specials, plus yuyeras (herb sellers) crushing pohã ñana to order.
₲₲₲