Things to do in Asunción, Paraguay: a 1 to 3 day guide

Start early at Plaza de los Héroes and the National Pantheon (free entry; it closes at noon on Sundays). A few blocks away, the Casa de la Independencia tells the story of the night of May 14, 1811; it is open Monday to Saturday.

At midday, the Cabildo: a free museum of art, music and history, with air conditioning. Then the Manzana de la Rivera and the Casa Viola, the oldest house in Asunción. End on the Costanera, watching the sun set behind the Chaco. On Saturdays, the Palmear street fair fills Calle Palma from 11:00 (verify).

Try chipa (a bread of cassava starch and cheese) and sopa paraguaya, which despite its name is a cornbread, not a soup. On cool days, vori vori: chicken broth with cornmeal dumplings. Places with history: Lido Bar (a counter-style copetín since 1953) and El Bolsi (since 1960).

For a home-style lunch, climb Loma San Jerónimo, the neighborhood of staircases and colorful little houses above the river. Go by day and ask before taking photos: it is a living neighborhood, not a set.

Go early to Mercado 4: juices, chipa, herbs for tereré and Guaraní in every aisle. Carry little cash and keep your phone out of sight: petty theft happens, as in any big market. Then visit the Recoleta Cemetery, an open-air museum of mausoleums.

The Museo del Barro is open Tuesday to Saturday, 14:00 to 20:00, and is the country's best museum: Indigenous, folk and contemporary art. Entry is free on Fridays and Saturdays (verify). For a harder look at history, the Museo de las Memorias, a former detention center of the dictatorship (Monday to Friday). At night, Villa Morra and the Paseo Carmelitas: bars come alive after 22:00.

Areguá is about 29 km away, roughly 45 minutes without traffic: mansions, a hilltop church and ceramics workshops. Two minutes away, the Kõi and Chororĩ hills, with sandstone columns (Monday to Friday). San Bernardino, a German colony founded in 1881, is a little over an hour away.

Note: the environment ministry (MADES) declared Ypacaraí's water unfit for swimming in the 2025-2026 season, so enjoy the lake from the shore. Another option is the PY02 highway to Itauguá, capital of ñandutí lace, and the Caacupé basilica, 54 km out.

The best months are April-May and August-October; pink lapacho trees bloom in July and August. Summer (December to February) is humid, with a heat index above 40 °C: museums at midday, the Costanera at sunset.

If you like birds, the Bay of Asunción has 269 recorded species; watch from the Costanera. The airport is in Luque, about 15 km away (30 to 45 minutes by taxi or app). For information, the Turista Róga office at Palma 468 is open daily from 7:00 to 19:00.