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Seat of government of Bolivia
Photo: Skykid 123ve, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
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La Paz's main tourist strip. It's mainly a market street with artesano and souvenir stores, but you'll also find budget hostels, tour and travel agencies, cafes, and lots and lots of backpackers. Don't be suckered by the roving sellers of "trilobite-in-a-rock".
Mercado de Hechicería, Mercado de las Brujas
Vendors sell llama fetuses and dried frogs for Aymara rituals, as well as soapstone figurines and aphrodisiac formulas. This street is also the best place to pick up a charango or other Bolivian musical instrument.
Shops on this street sell cheap electronics.
One of the few places in the city with preserved colonial buildings, now housing several interesting museums.
Contains government buildings and the city cathedral, Metropolitan Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace (Catedral Basilica Menor de Nuestra Senora de la Paz). The center of the square has a monument dedicated to Murillo.
Presidential Palace
Official residence of the president of Bolivia. Tourists are not allowed inside.
Very different from cemeteries you'd normally see in Europe. A big place, many aisles with walls and holes (like shelves), where ashes of the dead are bricked up and stored. Fronts decorated, different things (i.e. photos, artificial flowers, electronic ladybugs, mini Coca Cola bottles) left for personal memory of the dead - all very colorful and very diverse. Sometimes fronts covered with glass doors. Part of walls are multi-storey to keep more ashes. Colored ladders, stairs and platforms help people to approach holes up the walls. You can see construction of new walls being made. There is a crematorium, graves with buried bodies, monuments, crypts, and mausoleums that commemorate e.g. warriors. Big colorful graffitis (related to death but to life as well) make it all even more interesting. Due to all the colors and solutions there, the cemetery seems to be interesting and lively place. Red line of cable car gives you a good view from above.
Surreal, weathered rock. It is a natural attraction of great beauty whose authors are water and air, which through its erosive effects of terrain created whimsical formations of cones and craters that resemble a lunar landscape. If you want to see more eroded formations with glittering diamond like silver and pink sand, try going on a red bus to Alpacoma from Calle Buenos Aires, then take a Bs. 2 trufi to the brick ovens, then walk a few minutes over the pass to the upper Achocalla valley (towards the well-hidden municipal dump).
Valley of souls
Similar to the above. Eerie rock formations with appearance of stalagmites. Walking, climbing, photography and observation of the city can be done here. At height of 3900 m, it allows a view of the city and the snow-capped Illimani and Mururata mountains.
A labyrinth of street market stalls on a steep slope. Best fish meals in the city ("Fish Alley"). From the corner of Santa Cruz and Illampu walk up hill about four blocks... that is, two blocks will bring you to the round Plaza 14 de Septiembre. One block straight up will bring you to Eloy Salmon, and another block to the market.
San Francisco Museum
This restored religious complex has housed some of Bolivia's most important historical moments, including the birth of the Independence Revolution of 1809. Also, you can climb the church tower to get a panoramic view of the indigenous and Mestiza quarters. Displays are in Spanish and English along with personal guides.
Museo Nacional de Etnografía y Folklore
MUSEF shows Bolivian cultures in their historic dimension and their current situation. These cultures are alive in the cities and the countryside, in markets, schools and churches, in streets, the jungle or a minibus. Not a single corner of Bolivia escapes its diversity. And to understand this complexity better, the MUSEF offers an incomparable tour.
Museo Nacional de Arte
No doubt, the tour through the National Museum of Art is a ride through the history of Bolivian art, its paintings, sculptures, photos and other artistic expressions; a singular experience for national and foreign visitors.
Museo Tihuanaco
A favorite of foreign tourists, this small museum details the history and significance of the coca plant, including the effect of the U.S. War on Drugs. The displays are in Spanish, but booklets of complete translations in other languages are provided. According to the museum, crack cocaine is the greatest epidemic since the Plague in the Middle-Ages. And yes, there are free samples of coca leaf for visitors.
Museo de Instrumentos Musicales de Bolivia
Displays a huge collection of sound-producing devices from Bolivia and beyond, some of which you can play yourself. The museum was founded by charango master and inventor Ernesto Cavour, and some of his creations on display (such as multi-bodied guitars) are downright bizarre.
Museo de Metales Preciosos Precolombinos
Pre-Columbian treasures in silver and gold.
Museo Subterraneo
Hardly deserving the name "museum", it's essentially a small outdoor plaza sunk into the ground with a huge replica Tiwanaku monolith in the middle of it. The original one used to be there, but it was moved back to Tiwanaku for preservation.
"Crazy Dave" is a New Yorker who was arrested for drug smuggling in Bolivia and spent years in San Pedro Prison in La Paz. Most afternoons he can be found telling his story (with perhaps a bit of embellishment) at Plaza San Pedro near the prison. He's quite a character, and the story is interesting and entertaining.
Cholitas are indigenous Bolivian women who can be seen all over La Paz in traditional clothing. If you seek it out, you can also see this unusual WWE-inspired entertainment event, where Bolivian women wrestle in front of an audience. Shows every Sunday at Ceja El Alto, Zona 12 de October. Taxis from downtown tourist area at most Bs. 50.
at the beginning of Av. 16 de Julio
Study Spanish, English, Dutch, German, Portuguese or several other foreign languages with experienced and personable teachers. Excellent individualized and small group instruction with friendly staff. Activities from salsa classes to local excursions, including museum, market or peña visits upon request. Free internet, homestays and transportation.
Friendly Spanish school in the heart of La Paz´s historical district. Specialises in crash courses for travellers wanting to get to grips with or improve their Spanish, as well as longer courses for those spending more time in the city. Group or individual classes tailored to any level, with experienced teachers who all speak fluent English, as well as some French, German and Italian speakers. Homestays and volunteering opportunities can be arranged, as well as other activities. Competitive prices and laid back atmosphere.
The schedules for the lessons are completely flexible and the student could start lessons any day of the week. Individual, Group and tailor-made classes. Family homestay, Volunteer work and Educational tours could be organized for students during the course. Intensive lessons 3-4 hr/day or Short-term intensive lessons 5-10 hr/day. Free hostal pick-up.
For those who find learning in a formal school environment difficult, or whose schedules make fitting in with a school's timetable impossible. Rita offers private tuition at whatever time is most convenient, either at her home, your hostel, or a quiet café of your choice. More than 10 years of experience teaching Spanish, and a positive, adaptable approach based on her extensive study of cognitive theory. Specialises in helping students who have found that rigid, traditional approaches don't work for them.
Average Chinese. Not worth the 17-km drive out of the city.
Best brunch in town, gourmet food in beautiful surroundings. Wifi and garden. Working with the "New Andean Kitchen" and organic coffee. Closed in the evening.
A dark, bohemian cafe set in an old mansion decorated with scads of antiques. Serving Bolivian and mediocre international food. The best drip coffee in La Paz. Painfully slow service. Another location on the Prado. Serves llamas.
Lavish breakfast buffet for Bs. 20 (US$2.50), great international and local food from noon-23:00. Try the Lake Titicaca trout with Beni almonds.
Catering mostly to travelers (and guests of the hotel—see below), but a good sampling of Bolivian dishes. Expensive.
Best place to pretend you're back in the 1950s plotting a Pan-American revolution with Fidel and Che.
Good ceviche and other seafood.
Try ordering with a thick New York accent and see what you get.
Great Arabic fast food in a tiny setting. Try the falafel for Bs. 7. Order a "super" for Bs. 10 if you're hungry and be there for lunch when the boss isn't around (bigger portions).
Serves nice breakfasts with a friendly smile. Pizzas are not good, and also overpriced.
Cheaper than "Italia" with more American style pizzas. Take-away available.
Nice Arabic food.
The highest curry house in the world! This is one of the few places you can get curry in Bolivia (and also can deliver to your hostel). Good veggie and vegan options. The curries and side dishes are mediocre at best, if you're longing for a UK style curry you'll be disappointed. They offer a free "I survived the world's most dangerous vindaloo" T-shirt to anyone who finishes it - people generally don't. Portions are small for a curry house.
Open 24 hr.
An elegant coffee shop in the hip southern part of La Paz. Serves fantastic food all day.
Wide selection of international food, Dutch owned and operated. Excellent cocktails and always a good atmosphere. Drink Coca Leaf Mojitos where the mint is replaced by Coca Leaves - top cocktail!
In the heart of the city, San Pedro. Serving possibly the best homestyle vegetarian cooking with much flavour and love. Deep fried vegan patties. Fixed lunch starts midday. Music with your organic coffee, tea, and food. If you want the menú del dia, be sure to reserve it in advance by calling.
On el Prado. Very nice restaurant-cafe for Bolivian standards. Try the personal size pizza. The one with extra cheese, pesto, tomato and caramelized onions is to die for.
Authentic Japanese food in this restaurant run by the Japanese Society in La Paz. Japanese specialties such as ramen, chicken katsu and karaage in addition to the expected sushi. Set meals with miso soup, (Japanese) rice are available.
In the Sopocachi district, about a block and a half from Plaza Avaroa, La Coca is an almuerzo style restaurant offering a very good four course menu for the price. Choice of 3 soups and 5 main courses, at least one of each guaranteed to be vegetarian. Quiet, pleasant decor, friendly and competent staff.
High-end international cuisine at a price to match. The food is excellent, and the surroundings live up to the name, but you won't get much change from Bs. 400 for two people (including wine and dessert). Despite describing itself as a "jazz lounge", the resident DJ has never heard of Chet Baker, Miles Davis or John Coltrane, and seems to prefer elevator music ... though with a little prodding can be persuaded to put something more tolerable on.
This cosy little restaurant has amazing hummus, tajines and mint tea. Its warm and Moroccan atmosphere is a nice contrast from the cold city. Menu in English, Spanish, and Hebrew.
Traditional Brazilian cuisine. Feijoada (hot bean pot with smoked pork rib, smoked sausages, sun dried meat and bacon), moqueca de Peixe (pirarucu filet [white meat amazonian river fish] slowly cooked in coconut milk and spices). A caipirinha is the perfect cocktail for this meal or you can also have wine or beer if you aren't feeling that adventurous. Variety of grilled meats (not "rodizio" style), chicken and trout. Cozy and owned by a Brazilian and French Canadian couple.
Lunch place serving contemporary Bolivian food: opened in late 2017 and quickly became, well, popular. Reservations are not possible, arrive around 12 to be seated with the first group, otherwise you may need to wait for a table. The menu consists of three dishes, you chose one entry, main, and dessert and get juice and bread. Some of the staff speak English and provide a lot of details about each dish and ingredients.
Organic vegan restaurant serving healthy, fresh meals: some Andean cuisine and some from further afield. Good for breakfast and lunch – the lunch combo includes soup, bread, hummus, a bowl, and a drink. Lots of gluten-free options. Menu in English. Wi-Fi available.
Nice Chinese food with one vegetarian tofu dish and buns. Free wifi.
Cosy restaurant with good food, music and interior. The place is run by a Swedish-Bolivian couple. Prices not so high by European standards. Try Titicaca salad - it's huge, has fish, and is yummy.
Modern Bolivian fine dining. Ranked by Restaurant Magazine to be one of the best restaurants in Latin America. All ingredients are sourced from within Bolivia. The staff have excellent English Try the full 8-course meal.
Many thought the legendary Macedonian slayer had long since died. Not so in fact, although he is considerably tamer after a rough encounter with a fiery cholita.
This café serves very delicious coffee, and also has a very appealing breakfast menu. The café is situated at the east end of Plaza Avaroa, where you may also find an "Alexanders Coffee".
Free WiFi for customers
Decent coffee and a nice calm getaway close to the tourist ghetto. Sandwiches are disappointingly small, but tasty. The "Trekker´s Breakfast" is huge and delicious.
Northern English owned backpackers bar serving standard English fare at mid-range prices. Under new management. Fun party atmosphere, and a warm welcome from English speaking staff. Also has travel. Has Wi-Fi and TV for most sporting events and a book exchange (very good, but expensive). Tour agency and great happy hour Su-Th. Wednesday nights are theme orientated with fancy dress. Available for large bookings and tour groups. Great food, the breakfast is very nice and not too overpriced compared with the other local options.
Dutch owned & managed traveller's hangout. Good atmosphere, different areas, live music, free WiFi, large screen TV for important football games. Pool table, serve coca leaf mojitos, where coca leaves are substituted for mint leaves.
Food is overpriced but good, and the cocktails are reasonable, though not as good as some from some of the other bars. Mostly frequented by Bolivians and is of course a themed bar.
Bar with a good atmosphere and fairly good music. There is a large dance floor and a comfortable bar. Owner Asher has taken 6 steps back from managing the place after a sting operation codenamed 'superhuey'.
Recorded rock music, and all sorts of old things including fob watches, photographs, a kid's tricycle and a six shooter to keep you amused. They serve food too.
Known for its great clandestine happy sauces. ATM on premises.
Open all week long, great parties, all kind of music. The biggest bar in Bolivia serves almost every drink there is. Full of backpackers and locals, great music and atmosphere.
Trendy karaoke lounge with a great ambience and an amazing variety of songs both in Spanish and English. A good option if you visit the Zona Sur.
Since 1995 has remained one of the most popular places for travellers with a good mix of locals. It's a lively atmosphere every night of the week at this place. Serving the best in global cuisine, and well priced. Be careful, though, as many tourists (as of July 2009) have reported being duped by being charged much higher prices for drinks than listed on the menu. Check your bill carefully! Unfortunately because of its popularity with tourists, Mongos has attracted pick-pockets as of late. A common trick to for a Bolivian to 'drunkenly' hug you in the bar, while he takes your phone/wallet/valuables from your pockets.
Bolivian hangout and a proper disco venue, the other one is called Soundbar. Very dressed up Bolivians frequent the establishment. Worth a look if you're missing a big club with big pretensions.
A bar/club hangout for upper class youth of La Paz's South Zone. Dress well.
A pretty hip club in La Paz's rich South Zone that's slightly on the right side of pretentious. Good alternative to Mongo's or RamJam if you're sick of bumping into Gringos all the time. Dress well.
Supposedly the best place in La Paz for performances, the one locals come to mind when asked "what else could you recommend in La Paz?"
Quality, inexpensive hostel in La Paz with very friendly, helpful, bilingual staff. The terraces have a fantastic view of the city, and they're located in the best neighborhood near all the bars, museums, restaurants, and great events.
Calle Loayza 420. Set in a beautifully restored 100 year old hotel, with an amazing bar in the old ball room. Also houses the Oxygen Bar on the 3rd floor with a rooftop terrace and BBQ area. Amenities include real duvets, comfortable beds, hot showers, breakfast, English speaking staff, tour desk, internet and WiFi, International phone service, pool table, TV-room with DVDs, cable, and enough partying to keep you up until 03:00. Matrimonials, triples and twin rooms also available. Probably the worst internet connection in La Paz (and that's saying something) so take care of any online bookings or arrangements before arriving. It was raided in early June 2013 by the police looking for drugs. At least two travellers were caught and Loki's liquor license was taken away.
24-hr hot showers, movies, in-house bar, attentive staff, free breakfast, free internet, pick up service, and comfortable beds.
Hostal Perla Negra
24-hr hot showers, free pool table/ping pong/table football, free breakfast, free internet, Wi-Fi in all rooms and comfortable beds. Feels more like a hotel than a hostel
Bright and clean. Micro-brewery on-site, and a rooftop bar, with BBQs most nights. Just down the road is the annex: The Adventure Brew Too. there, dorm beds are Bs. 48-75, single with bath Bs. 192. Includes all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast, slow internet, Wi-Fi, a range of DVD-films and a small Saya beer. Although their internet booking engine will state they are full, they might have a bed if you call. The location is good for the bus terminal, but a bit off for other things. US$20 per night for a single.
Claims to be the highest Irish owned hostel/bar in the world and with a crowd to match, Wild Rover is a backpackers three blocks from Plaza Murillio in a beautiful old ex-president's house. Facilities include 24 hr reception, travel agency, backpack lockers, 24-hr gas powered hot showers, extra wide beds with specially made winter/summer duvets, fun bar with daily activities, menu with the food you miss from home, wifi and free internet, and pool table. Very popular with British/Irish backpackers. Some rooms are very noisy due to proximity of the bar, ask for a room in the back. Dorms from Bs. 40.
Cheap backpacker joint, but not as clean as you might expect. Nice staff, warm water, shared bathrooms with electrical showers, cheap laundry service, free internet and wifi as well as free use of a kitchen. Nice mix of people - especially popular with Japanese and French travellers. Occasionally full but back-up options are available in the same block, albeit not quite as good value. No lockers so valuables must be left with the office.
Big party hostel, guests are mostly very young. Dorms around Bs. 50 (depending on the size), 2 privates; Bs. 140-160, but very poor beds and bad shower in the privates.
Great location, great prices (double with private bath (no TV), Bs. 90) and very friendly staff. Popular with Bolivians. Great place.
Basic and secure accommodations with shared bath and sink in room. Ms. Filomena is the manager who keeps an eye on the place and is always happy to help. Has a courtyard and places to wash and dry clothing. Expect to pay Bs. 25 for a single. Doubles are available. It is not in the normal city central tourist area. If you want to be by the tourist stuff, do not stay here. If you want fewer gringos around this is a good place.
Basic. Gets a lot of artisans staying there.
Very popular with backpackers. Offering warm water, friendly staff and a central location.
A nice place, with a friendly staff, offering doubles for Bs. 80, midnight curfew. Be wary of confusing billing calculations and over charging. Use your own calculator to check the totals.
Top end of Calle Illampu. Doubles with shared bath are Bs. 80. 10% discount with HI-card. Former members of Status Quo tend to use this hotel whilst in town.
Kitchen, laundry service, lousy Nestle instant coffee maker, rooftop terrace, nice quiet street. Very popular with the pseudo-hippie types. Can be very loud outside the rooms near the employees reception area (Friday night fiesta time). Bs. 30 for privates (Bs. 10 for lentil soup).
Splurge just a little and for Bs. 130 you get a nice comfy double (single Bs. 100) with TV (loads of movie channels) and private bathroom with hot shower. All in the heart of the backpacker area. Breakfast is also included, but isn´t great. The señora in charge is a lovely lady and will take good care of you.
Low prices, friendly staff, a home away from home taste of Tel Aviv.
Very friendly staff, free wifi, basic breakfast (ask for more and you'll get more for free), hot showers, clean. Quiet street, though stinks a bit. Recommended!
A bit worse for wear, but excellent value for the price. Friendly and honest staff. Singles from Bs. 100 which includes a real breakfast, cable TV, room with view, bathroom with solar/gas hot water (not electric), decent furnishings, and wifi, which is rare to find in this price range. They also run a travel agency and bus company for tours.
Nestled on a beautiful mountainside high above the Valley of Flowers. While away your days in a hammock, hike in the spectacular Valley of the Moon, trek to the Devil’s Molar, or enjoy horse-riding and mountain-biking and a taste of local culture and cuisine. Fully-equipped kitchen, brand new bathrooms. Campsites, cabins and teepees.
Calle 6, Los Pinos. Gorgeous, spacious and tastefully equipped apartment for 4-6 people in the Zona Sur of La Paz. Prices are between US$140-175 (per week).
In the Sopocachi district close to numerous nice restaurants, the España has a charming garden courtyard and a solarium. There's a single net-connected PC in the lobby.
Historic hotel in the center of the city with beautiful view. Whatsapp: +591 68212973.
In business since 1975, with a good restaurant in the basement and a popular cafe (Coffee Banais) on the ground floor.
In the Aymara District, close to the Witches Market and many touristic attractions. Has a colonial style building with sunny patios. Free Internet and Wi-Fi. Has a travel office. Beautiful rooms. Friendly and helpful staff. Complimentary tea and mate de coca. Singles US$28–31, doubles US$63 per night. Book ahead as it fills up.
Calle Hermanos Manchego 2551. Small, friendly and bilingual staff run this posada in the heart of the restaurant and pub district. Between Mongo´s and Traffic, and just steps from Mamprahon's Asian Food. Singles US$20, doubles US$30.
5 stars and all suites in the heart of Sopocachi.
If you want to bring some Bolivian culture home and buy some of the best music, the top picks are Discolandia in Prado, Museum of Musical Instruments in calle Jaén, and MP3 vendors near San Francisco Church and market Lanza.
View and buy colorful paintings and postcards of renowned Aymara artist and most well-known Bolivian painter Mamani Mamani.
Alpaca clothing company, owned and managed by Bolivian women. Suritayka uses only the highest quality of alpaca wool (baby, super fine and royal) to produce pullovers, cardigans, wraps, ponchos, hats, et al. The store also offers leather products and jewelry.
Some small shops (low prices) are in El Alto near the Che Guevara statue. More shops, but slightly more expensive, are in calle Linares and around. You can buy "user manuals" as well to help you getting started.
Several shops in calle Illampu.
Weavings are upstairs, better quality than the stuff on the street with comparable prices. Nicely mounted with wood panels and ready for hanging.
Good quality handicrafts. Has a café (Café El Consulado), travel agency; Topas Adventure Travel Bolivia, and 5 great rooms.
Fair Trade handicrafts
Fair trade store member of World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO), has 26 different groups, with a wide variety of handicrafts (alpaca, wood, ceramics, native textiles, table cloth, greeting cards). One store is located inside Hotel Rosario and other at the street.
By bus
There are three types of shared public transportation in La Paz: regular buses or "micros"; shared vans, called "mini buses", and shared taxis running set routes advertised on the windshield, called…
By cable car
A system of nine cable car lines (Mi Teleférico) connects El Alto with downtown La Paz and reaches even Imparvi. Bs. 3 for a ride.
By taxi
The easiest way to get around is by taxi. They aren't metered, so agree on a fare before boarding; a ride within downtown should be about Bs. 6–8.
On foot
If you ever find yourself lost, in general the easiest thing is to simply walk downhill.
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La Paz / El Alto · International · LPB
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