La Paz
La Paz, officially Nuestra Señora de La Paz, is the seat of government of Bolivia.
La Paz, officially Nuestra Señora de La Paz, is the seat of government of Bolivia. With 755,732 residents as of 2024, it is the third-most populous city in Bolivia. Its metropolitan area, which includes the neighboring city of El Alto, and other smaller towns, is the second most populous urban area in Bolivia, with a population of 2.2 million, after Santa Cruz de la Sierra with a population of 2.3 million. The city is also the capital of the department of the same name.
Adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Worth seeing in and around La Paz
10 places within 25 km that the world writes about, in the order of how widely: the ones a visitor has heard of first, then the ones only a local would name.
- 01Chamber of Deputies of Bolivia
The Chamber of Deputies is the lower chamber of the Plurinational Legislative Assembly, the bicameral legislature of Bolivia. Like the upper chamber, the Senate, it meets in La Paz, the seat of government.
0 m · Lower house of the National legislature of Bolivia · Wikipedia - 02Senate of Bolivia
The Chamber of Senators, formerly known as the National Senate, is the upper chamber of the Plurinational Legislative Assembly, the bicameral legislature of Bolivia. Like the lower chamber, the Chamber of Deputies, it meets in La Paz, the seat of government.
0 m · Upper house of the Plurinational Legislative Assembly of Bolivia · Wikipedia - 03Higher University of San Andrés
The Universidad Mayor de San Andrés or UMSA is the leading public university in Bolivia, established since 1830 in the city of La Paz. UMSA is the second-oldest university in Bolivia, after the University of San Francisco Xavier de Chuquisaca.
1.1 km · university in La Paz, Bolivia · Wikipedia - 04Plaza Murillo
The Plaza Murillo is the central plaza of the city of La Paz and the open space most connected to the political life of Bolivia. Prominent buildings on the plaza include the Palacio Quemado, the Casa Grande del Pueblo, Plurinational Legislative Assembly of Bolivia, and the Cathedral of La Paz.
0 m · square in La Paz, Bolivia · Wikipedia - 05Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace, La Paz
The Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace, also called La Paz Cathedral, is a cathedral and minor basilica is located in Murillo Square in the city of La Paz in Bolivia. It was built in 1835 with a neoclassical architecture with Baroque elements.
100 m · cathedral in La Paz, Bolivia · Wikipedia - 06Basilica of San Francisco, La Paz, Bolivia
The Basilica of San Francisco in the city of La Paz, Bolivia, is a Catholic church under the advocation of Francis of Assisi. It is located in the center of the city, in the square that bears its name, Plaza San Francisco.
400 m · church in La Paz · Wikipedia - 07Public University of El Alto
The Public University of El Alto, also known by its acronym UPEA, is a public university based in the city of El Alto, Bolivia. The public institution has 8 areas and 37 careers in the areas of medicine, engineering, socio-political-economic, and technology.
6.4 km · university in El Alto, Bolivia · Wikipedia - 08The Witches' Market
The Witches' Market, also known as El Mercado de las Brujas and La Hechiceria, is a popular tourist attraction located in Cerro Cumbre, a mountain clearing in La Paz, Bolivia. It is located in the street of Linares, El Rosario neighborhood, but also extends to the streets of Jiménez, Santa Cruz and Illampu.
1.7 km · Market for magical paraphernalia in La Paz · Wikipedia - 09National Museum of Art, La Paz
The National Museum of Art, Palacio Diez de Medina is a museum in the city of La Paz, Bolivia. It has an important permanent collection of colonial paintings, including canvases by Melchor Pérez de Holguín and Gregorio Gamarra.
100 m · national museum of art in La Paz, Bolivia · Wikipedia - 10Museo de Arte Antonio Paredes Candia
The Museo de Arte Antonio Paredes Candia is an art museum in El Alto, Bolivia. Inaugurated in 2002, as of 2011 the museum contains 503 works of art and 11,931 books.
3.3 km · Bolivian art museum · Wikipedia
Ranked by the number of language editions of Wikipedia with an article on each, from Wikidata; the sentences are the openings of those articles, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Things to do
Take it easy on your first day in La Paz if you arrive from low altitude. Even if you feel fine, resting and walking slowly will help. Try not to eat too much, at least the first day or so. And sleep as much as you can. Visit tourist information services at the Plaza Estudiantes or Prado, they will tell you a lot about what you can do in and around La Paz. The Self-guided Public Transport Tour.
From Wikivoyage: La Paz, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Where to eat
For lunch try the little almuerzo-kitchens. You'll get a decent menu for under Bs. 10. Be careful with or avoid salads the first days. If you are on a budget it is always possible to eat in the local markets. Street food is plentiful in La Paz, including juice, snacks, and meals. The avocado sandwiches are delicious, if you're lucky enough to find someone selling them.
- 01Popular Cocina Boliviana
Calle Murillo 826 (Get inside the patio and look up and behind you.
- 02Café Vida
Organic vegan restaurant serving healthy, fresh meals: some Andean cuisine and some from further afield.
- 03Gustu
300 Calle 10, Calacoto, booking@gustu.bo.
From Wikivoyage: La Paz, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Getting to La Paz
- Airports
- El Alto (LPB), 6 km · Juan Mendoza (ORU), 197 km · Jorge Wilsterman (CBB), 232 km
- Stations
- El Alto International Airport, 6.6 km
- Oruro → La Paz198 km · quickest by road, 4h 22m · Bs60–85
- Cochabamba → La Paz233 km · quickest by road, 7h 49m · Bs105–140
- Sucre → La Paz416 km · quickest by air, 4h 50m · Bs440–690
- Plan a tripFrom anywhereThe planner compares every way there from wherever you are.
Road and air are today’s quick answer; timetabled trains, buses and ferries load on the results page from the operators’ feeds.
No local-transport research exists yet for La Paz
Our researched notes are written from a sourced entry: every shared taxi, boat and village bus with its operator, its rule, its fare and the year we saw it, and what could not be confirmed. Nobody has done that work for La Paz. What is above is what we hold from open sources; nothing here pretends to be more.
- Get in{{go | name | url | address -16.4884 | long easily reached with the Línea Azul gondola, and frequent trufi connections from El Alto bus station or Ceja (Bs.
- Get in1) | phone | hours | wikipedia | lastedit=2018-05-10 | content=Besides the station, Río Seco also just refers to the from where many minibuses leave and where all buses from the terminal also pass by.
- Get in2 for the ferry, 3.5 hr), Sorata, Desaguadero, and Tiwanaku (Bs.
- Get aroundThere 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 "trufis".
- Get aroundYou can hail a bus or mini bus anywhere; to get off, just yell out "¡voy a bajar!" A system of nine cable car lines (Mi Teleférico) connects El Alto with downtown La Paz and reaches even Imparvi.
From Wikivoyage: La Paz, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us; that article was last edited 2026-09.
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If you know how people move in La Paz – the stand, the rule, the fare – tell us, and the note gets an entry.
Next door to La Paz
- El Altosecond-largest city in Bolivia3.3 km
- Achocallahuman settlement9 km
- Mirafloresneighborhood of La Paz, Bolivia1.2 km
- Museo San Francisco Cultural Centercultural institution located in La Paz city, Bolivia400 m