La Paz: Itineraries

A Top Day in La Paz

La Paz lives, breathes and survives on the street so there's nothing for it - brace yourself and wade on in. Personally I like to start the day with a hit of pure vitamin C. Juice carts prowl the Prado, La Paz's main commercial drag, and I can get my fruity fix for just a few cents. A few cents more takes me right across town to the museum district of Calle Jaén, where the city's cultural district continues to reveal new attractions on each subsequent visit. Mid-morning and back on the streets, there's time to stop off at a streetside stall for a quick snack before crossing the Prado, catching a glimpse of the sun glancing off the facade of San Francisco Cathedral, and climbing Calle Sagárnaga. This entails diving into the seething mass of the backpacker district. Everyone is on the hustle here, so just go with it: bargain for a cool souvenir, negotiate the price of an excursion or check your email at a makeshift joint touting for new business. For lunch I might go gringo and munch through a traveler-friendly menu, or go native and grab a bargain set lunch around the corner on Calle Illampu. Either way it's going to be cheap but cheerful. The afternoon brings a fitting for some tailor-made clothes, browsing for cheap CDs and DVDs in the market and a lazy cafe con leche at one of my favourite coffee shops, Pepe's, while planning the night ahead. After dark the action moves west to the Sopocachi district, where the bars and restaurants around Plaza Avaroa have drinks, dancing and plenty of chances to fraternise with the locals well into the early hours.

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