La Paz Sightseeing

La Paz Sightseeing

According to youremailverifier, La Paz is the most important cultural center in Bolivia. The city is home to several cathedrals that belong to the colonial era, such as the Temple and Convent of San Francisco and the Metropolitan Cathedral, the latter located in Plaza Murillo, which is also the home of the country’s political and administrative power. A very important characteristic of tourism in the city of La Paz, are the colonial buildings and houses that are found around the old town and the center of the city. These colonial constructions are the most visited in the entire city of La Paz.

Among the different museums, the most notable are those on Calle Jaén, which has preserved the design of the streets since the days of Colonia and is home to 10 different museums and the entire La Paz culture. The Government Palace is located in the Plaza Murillo or Plaza de las Armas of the city and is known as Palacio Quemado. The palace has been restored many times since then, but the name has remained intact. It is one of the most visited infrastructures in the entire city of La Paz.

Another important and highly visited tourist area of the city of La Paz is the South Zone, it is one of the most exclusive areas of the city. In the South Zone you can find the largest shopping centers in Bolivia, one of them is the MegaCenter, which is the largest cinema complex in the city, it has 18 movie theaters, 2 VIP movie theaters, a shopping center, food court, supermarkets, Bowling, Paint Ball Rooms and an Ice Rink for skating.

Other recommended neighborhoods are Sopocachi, San Jorge and Miraflores. Sopocachi is the bohemian area par excellence, in this neighborhood you will find most of the cafes, restaurants and art galleries. Another characteristic of the area is the nightlife, since Sopocachi has a wide variety of discos and pubs, which are constantly frequented by locals and tourists, it is worth mentioning that Sopocachi is the area of lovers, with El Mound as its greatest monument.

San Jorge is the most exclusive neighborhood in the western district, it welcomes the vast majority of the embassies present in the country, such as the embassies of the United States, United Kingdom, Spain, Germany and Japan, among others. San Jorge is the area with the highest density of buildings in all of Bolivia, also in the neighborhood is the tallest skyscraper in the country called Torre Girasoles, and the Blue Tower, the only smart building in the city. St. George is also home to the Ritz Hotel and the well-known Goethe Institut, Dante Alighieri Society and French Alliance language institutes. The San Jorge area is the urban sector with the highest Human Development Index in the city and in the entire country.

Miraflores is the most developed area on the eastern side of the city, since time immemorial Miraflores is considered a refuge from the hustle and bustle of the city due to the warmth and tranquility of the area. In Miraflores you can see the republican architecture in family houses and also buildings of modern and contemporary architecture, it is a clear coexistence of the modern with the old republican.

Places of interest and public entertainment

In the city of La Paz

  • Old Town of the City
  • Murillo Square
  • Government Palace (Bolivia).
  • The Paseo del Prado (El Prado).
  • Temple and convent of San Francisco
  • Metropolitan Cathedral
  • Central Urban Park (which has Roosevelt and Laikakota parks, a variety of multipurpose courts, an interactive museum, a fairground among other attractions).
  • Witches Market
  • Municipal Theater of La Paz
  • Outdoor theater
  • Santo Domingo Church
  • Calle Jaén (houses 10 Museums, Colonial houses, Bars and Restaurants).
  • Laikacota Metropolitan Park
  • Mallasa Zoo “Vesty Pakos Chuquiago Marka”
  • Valley of the moon
  • Valley of the Souls
  • Jach’a Kollo Lookout
  • Hernando Siles Stadium (the largest in Bolivia, venue for the Bolivian Soccer Team matches.
  • Cota Cota Lagoon
  • Palca Canyon
  • Multiplex
  • Megacenter (shopping and cinema center, the second largest in Bolivia, after the Ventura Mall in Santa Cruz).
  • Cine Teatro Monje Campero (one of the oldest cinemas in the city of La Paz, it has the largest screen in Bolivia).
  • My Cable Car
  • Sopocachi (Artistic area of the city).
  • South Zone
  • The Triplet Bridges
  • The Devil’s Wheel
  • Japanese garden

Around the city of La Paz

  • Cerro Illimani (the highest peak of the Cordillera Real).
  • Tiwanaku (ruins of the Tiwanacota culture).
  • Huayna Potosí Mountain
  • Chacaltaya (highest snow slope in the world).
  • Titicaca lake
  • Copacabana (Bolivia) (town on the shores of Lake Titicaca).
  • Madidi National Park
  • Sorata
  • Coroico (town of Los Yungas, a region with a hot and humid climate and lots of vegetation).
  • Condori Mountain
  • Palca (town on the slopes of the Nevado Illimani).
  • Cotapata National Park
  • Pre-Columbian Roads: Takesi, El Choro, Yunga Cruz and the Camino del Oro
  • Urmiri hot springs
  • Pilón Lajas Biosphere Reserve and Community Land of Origin
  • The Zongo Valley
  • Lake Titicaca (Several towns on the shores of the lake and islands).

Museums and cultural centers

La Paz’s museums [31] , art galleries and cultural centers are often financed by the State or by private entities. Most notable are the museums on Calle Jaén, which has preserved the design of the streets since the days of Colonia and is home to 10 different museums.

  • Pedro Domingo Murillo House Museum: Martyr of the 1809 independence revolution, it has been preserved and is now a museum. The house features a collection of furniture, textiles and art from the colonial era.
  • Juan de Vargas Costumbrista Museum: Shows ceramic dolls wearing traditional customs that show what life was like in the 19th century. You can also see photos of the old city of La Paz.
  • National Museum of Art: Located on Calle Comercio, in an old palace built in 1775, it is decorated with works by Melchor Pérez de Holguín and Marina Núñez del Prado, among others.
  • Museum of the Bolivian Coast: It exhibits the objects of the war of 1879 in which Bolivia lost its sea coast.
  • Pre-Columbian Precious Metals Museum or Gold Museum: Exhibits pre-Columbian gold, silver and copper works.
  • National Museum of Natural History: Exhibitions in Bolivia paleontology, geology, zoology and botanical elements of interest.
  • Museo Casa María Núñez del Prado: Exhibits Quechua and Aymara in sculptures by Bolivian artist Marina Núñez del Prado.
  • Museum of Ethnography and Folklore: Located in a house built in the 18th century, it displays the customs and art of ethnic groups.
  • Musical Instruments Museum: It exhibits an important variety of native instruments.
  • Tambo Quirquincho Museum: Located on Calle Linares, the museum exhibits an important variety of charangos. Other native instruments are shown as well.
  • National Museum of Archeology: Exhibits a collection of artifacts from the Tiwanakota culture.

Among other museums are:

  • Museum of the National Revolution
  • Military Historical Museum
  • Museum of Contemporary Art Plaza
  • Tiwanaku National Archeology Museum
  • National Museum of Sacred Art of the Cathedral
  • San Francisco Museum
  • National Sports Museum
  • Bolivian Andean Textile Museum
  • Coca Museum
  • Kusillo Museum

Night life

Despite its weather conditions, La Paz has a feverish nightlife that captivates both residents and visitors. Like the great metropolises of South America, La Paz offers countless alternatives for those who want to spend pleasant moments at night. The city has pubs, karaoke bars and discos for all tastes and ages where you can choose tropical music, classics, modern rhythms and live performances by national and international groups, all of them with quality services and fine attention.

One of the obligatory tours for tourists is precisely to visit the peñas-restaurants, which are places where folk music and dance as well as local gastronomy and drinks are appreciated.

All this activity led the Lonely Planet tourist guide, in 2010, to rate La Paz as the sixth most partying, fun city with the best nightlife on the planet. [32] Also the National Geographic magazine, in 2015, considered that La Paz was the third city in the world with the best and most intense nightlife (above São Paulo (in Brazil) and Ibiza (in Spain) due to its different offers fun: “This sophisticated lady welcomes visitors with open arms.”

La Paz Sightseeing