La Paz Sights

  1. Calle Jaén Museums

    Four, small, interesting museums are clustered together along Calle Jaén, La Paz's finest colonial street, and can easily be bundled into one visit. Buy tickets at the Museo Costumbrista.

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  2. Casa de Murillo

    Once the home of Don Pedro Domingo Murillo, a leader in the La Paz Revolution of July 16, 1809, the Casa de Murillo displays collections of colonial art and furniture, textiles, medicines, musical instruments and household items of glass and silver that once belonged to Bolivian aristocracy. Other odds and ends include a collection of Alasitas miniatures.

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  3. Cathedral & Plaza Murillo

    A relatively recent addition to La Paz's collection of religious structures, the 1835 cathedral is an impressive structure. The cathedral's sheer immensity, with its high dome, hulking columns, thick stone walls and high ceilings, is overpowering, but the altar is relatively simple. Inside, the main attraction is the profusion of stained-glass work.

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  4. Cathedral Murillo

    Although it's a relatively recent addition to La Paz's collection of religious structures, the 1835 Cathedral Murillo is an impressive structure - mostly because it is built on a steep hillside. The main entrance is 12m higher than its base on Calle Potosí. The cathedral's sheer immensity, with its high dome, hulking columns, thick stone walls and high ceilings, is overpowering, but the altar is relatively simple.

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  5. Coca Museum

    Chew on some facts at the Coca Museum which explores the sacred leaf's role in traditional societies, its use by the soft-drink and pharmaceutical industries and the growth of cocaine as an illicit drug. The displays (ask for a translation in your language) are educational, provocative and evenhanded.

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  7. El Alto

    A billboard proudly announces: 'El Alto is not part of Bolivia's problem. It's part of Bolivia's solution.' Not all would agree, but visiting here is an experience. Having once been a melting pot for campesinos (subsistence farmers) and people from all around the country, El Alto is now a city in its own right.

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  8. Flower Market

    The Flower Market appropriately located opposite the cemetery at the top of Batista, is a beautiful splash of color amid one of the city's drabber and less safe areas. Unfortunately it also sits alongside a festering open sewer and garbage dump, which make it rather confusing to the nostrils.

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  9. Iglesia de San Francisco

    The hewed stone basilica of San Francisco reflects an appealing blend of 16th-century Spanish and mestizo (indigenous-Spanish) trends. The facade is decorated with stone carvings of natural themes while the mass of rock pillars and stone faces in the upper portion of the plaza is intended to honor Bolivia's three great cultures - Tiahuanaco, Inca and modern.

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  10. Kusillo Cultural Complex & Children's Museum

    The Kusillo Cultural Complex & Children's Museum overlooking La Paz has an awesome lookout, and is full of diversions for young children.

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  11. La Paz Cemetery

    As in most Latin American cemeteries, bodies are buried in the traditional Western way or placed in a crypt. Within 10 years, they are disinterred and cremated. After cremation, families purchase or rent glass-fronted spaces in the cemetery walls for the ashes, affix plaques and mementos of the deceased and place flowers behind the glass door.

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  13. Lucha Libre

    One one of the most popular local attractions in El Alto is the Lucha Libre, or wrestling matches, where theatrical males and acrobatic cholitas play to the crowds. It's on at the Polifuncional de la Ceja de El Alto, a multifunctional sports stadium.

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  14. Mercado 16 de Julio

    In the lively La Ceja (Brow) district - which commands one of the highest real-estate prices in the region for its commercial value - you'll find a variety of electronic gadgets and mercantile goods. For an excellent market experience don't miss the massive Mercado 16 de Julio, which stretches for many blocks along the main thoroughfare and across Plaza 16 de Julio. This shopaholic's paradise has absolutely everything, from food and electronics, to vehicles and animals, all at reasonable prices.

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  15. Mercado de Hechicería

    The city's most unusual market, 'Witches' Market', lies amid lively tourist artesanía (local handcraft) shops. What they're selling isn't exactly witchcraft in the Hollywood sense; the merchandise is mainly herbs and folk remedies, as well as a few more unorthodox ingredients intended to manipulate the various spirits worshipped by the local Aymará people.

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  16. Mercado Lanza

    Between Plaza Pérez Velasco and Calle Figueroa is Mercado Lanza one of La Paz main food markets (the other major one is Mercado Camacho). It sells all manner of fruits, vegetables, juices, dairy products, breads and canned foods. There are also numerous stalls where you can pick up a sandwich, soup, salteña (filled pastry shells), empanada or full meal.

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  17. Mirador Laikakota

    The Mirador Laikakota - part of Kusillo Cultural Complex & Children's Museum - is in a tranquil park setting and is perfect for kids.

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  19. Museo Costumbrista Juan de Vargas

    The Museo Costumbrista Juan de Vargas contains art and photos, as well as some superb ceramic figurine dioramas of old La Paz. One of these is a representation of akulliko, the hour of coca-chewing; another portrays the festivities surrounding the Día de San Juan Bautista (St John the Baptist's Day) on June 24; another depicts the hanging of Murillo in 1810. Also on display are colonial artifacts and colorful dolls wearing traditional costumes.

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  20. Museo de Arte Contemporaneo

    Better modern art may be found in various other collections around town, but the private Museo de Arte Contemporaneo wins the gold star for the most interesting building: a restored 19th-century mansion (only one of four left on the Prado) with a glass roof and stained-glass panels designed by Gustave Eiffel. The museum's eclectic collection is a mix of reasonable - but not mind-blowing - Bolivian and international work.

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  21. Museo de Etnografía y Folklore

    The free Museo de Etnografía y Folklore is for anthropology buffs. The building, itself a real treasure, was constructed between 1776 and 1790, and was once the home of the Marqués de Villaverde. The highlight is the Tres Milenios de Tejidos exhibition of 167 stunning weavings from around the country - ask a guide for a look inside the drawers beneath the wall hangings.

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  22. Museo de Instrumentos Musicales

    The exhaustive, hands-on collection of unique instruments at the Museo de Instrumentos Musicales is a must for musicians. The brainchild of charango master Ernesto Cavour, it displays all possible incarnations of charangos (a traditional Bolivian ukulele-type instrument) and other indigenous instruments used in Bolivian folk music and beyond. If you don't happen on an impromptu jam session, check out Peña Marka Tambo across the street.

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  23. Museo de la Revolución Nacional

    The first question to ask when approaching this Museo de la Revolución Nacional is 'Which Revolution?' (Bolivia has had more than 100 of them). The answer is the one of April 1952, the popular revolt of armed miners that resulted in the nationalization of Bolivian mining interests. It displays photos and paintings from the era.

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  25. Museo de Metales Preciosos

    Also known as the Museo del Oro (Gold Museum), the Museo de Metales Preciosos houses three impressively presented salons of pre-Colombian silver, gold and copper works. A fourth salon in the basement has examples of ancient pottery.

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  26. Museo de Textiles Andinos Bolivianos

    Fans of Bolivia's lovely traditional weaving consider the small Museo de Textiles Andinos Bolivianos a must-see. Examples of the country's finest traditional textiles (including pieces from the Cordillera Apolobamba, and the Jal'qa and Candelaria regions of the Central Highlands) are grouped by region and described in Spanish. The creative process is explained from fiber to finished product. The gift shop sells museum-quality originals; 90% of the sale price goes to the artists.

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  27. Museo del Litoral

    Sometimes called the Museo de la Guerra del Pacífico, the diminutive Museo del Litoral incorporates relics from the 1884 war in which Bolivia became landlocked after losing its Litoral department to Chile. The collection consists mainly of historical maps that defend Bolivia's emotionally charged claims to Antofagasta and Chile's Segunda Región.

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  28. Museo Nacional de Arqueología

    Two blocks east of the Prado, the National Archaeology Museum holds a small but well-sorted collection of artifacts illustrating the most interesting aspects of the Tiahuanaco culture's five stages. Unfortunately there are no explanations in English, only Spanish.

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  29. Museo Nacional del Arte

    Near Plaza Murillo, the Museo Nacional del Arte is housed in the former Palacio de Los Condes de Arana. The building was constructed in 1775 of pink Viacha granite and has been restored to its original grandeur. In the center of a huge courtyard, surrounded by three stories of pillared corridors, is a lovely alabaster fountain.

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