Walk Colonial Streets and the Heart of Government
Start at Plaza Murillo, the formal centre of La Paz where government buildings frame a square anchored by a monument to Pedro Domingo Murillo, the independence activist hanged here in 1810. The Metropolitan Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace rises from the plaza's edge, its colonial presence a reminder that this square was designed in 1549 to express the ideals of Spanish colonial society. The Palacio Quemado, the presidential palace, stands across the square—you won't be allowed inside, but the building itself speaks to centuries of political power concentrated in this one place.
From Plaza Murillo, head to Calle Jaen, one of the few streets in the city where preserved colonial buildings still stand. This is where you'll find several museums worth your time, each housed in restored structures that give you a sense of how the city looked centuries ago. The street itself is the experience—narrow, steep, and lined with the architecture of the 16th and 17th centuries.
Explore Markets Where Ritual, Music and Daily Life Converge
The Witches' Market (Mercado de Hechicería) on Calle Linares between Sagarnaga and Santa Cruz is not a tourist invention but a working marketplace where vendors sell items for Aymara rituals alongside soapstone figurines and other goods. You'll find llama fetuses dried for ceremonies, aphrodisiac formulas, and—notably—this is the best place in the city to buy a charango or other Bolivian musical instruments. The street is dense, colourful, and reveals how indigenous and contemporary commerce coexist in La Paz.
Sagarnaga Street, just south of Plaza San Francisco, is La Paz's main tourist strip and a market street in its own right. Artesano and souvenir stores line the way, along with budget hostels, tour agencies, and cafes. It's busy with backpackers, but it's also where you can move through the city's commercial life and see how locals and visitors share the same narrow streets.
If you want to experience one of the world's biggest markets, take the red cable car line from Estación Teleférico Central to Estación Teleférico 16 de Julio and head to the Thursday and Sunday Market in El Alto (Feria de 16 de Julio). This mostly Aymara market sprawls across El Alto's high plateau; come early for the best selection and arrive prepared with small bills, sunblock, and a willingness to navigate chaos. You can find used clothes, electronics, plants, and nearly anything else imaginable. The market is itself the attraction—the crowds, the food, the sheer scale of it.
Mercado Uruguay, a labyrinth of street market stalls on a steep slope, is where to find the best fish meals in the city. Walk up from the corner of Santa Cruz and Illampu for four blocks to reach "Fish Alley".
Museums and Cultural Depth on Calle Jaen and Beyond
The Museo San Francisco, at Plaza San Francisco, is a restored religious complex that sheltered some of Bolivia's most important historical moments, including the spark of the 1809 independence revolution. You can climb the church tower to see a panoramic view of the indigenous and Mestiza quarters. The displays are in Spanish and English, and personal guides are available.
On Calle Jaen itself, you'll find the Musical Instrument Museum (Museo de Instrumentos Musicales de Bolivia), which holds a huge collection of Bolivian and international instruments—many of which you can play yourself. The museum was founded by charango master Ernesto Cavour, and his inventions (multi-bodied guitars and other creations) are on display. Nearby, the Museum of Precious Metals (Museo de Metales Preciosos Precolombinos) shows pre-Columbian treasures in silver and gold.
The National Ethnographic and Folk Museum (Museo Nacional de Etnografía y Folklore) at Ingavi 916 presents Bolivian cultures in both their historical and current dimensions—not as museum pieces but as living realities in markets, streets, churches, and minibuses. The National Museum of Art (Museo Nacional de Arte) on Calle Comercio traces the history of Bolivian art through paintings, sculptures, and photographs. The Coca Museum on Calle Linares details the history and significance of the coca plant, including the effects of U.S. drug policy; it includes free samples of coca leaf for visitors.
Surreal Rock Formations and Mountain Views
Just outside the city, Valle de La Luna offers weathered rock formations eroded by water and wind into whimsical cones and craters that resemble a lunar landscape. Take a local bus to Mallasa or a taxi to reach it. If you want to see more eroded formations with glittering pink and silver sand, take a red bus to Alpacoma from Calle Buenos Aires, then a trufi to the brick ovens, and walk over the pass to the upper Achocalla valley.
Valle de las Ánimas (Valley of Souls), also outside the city, has eerie rock formations that resemble stalagmites. At an elevation of 3,900 m (12,800 ft), it offers views of the city and the snow-capped peaks of Illimani and Mururata. Walking, climbing, and photography are possible here.
For city views, Mirador Killi Killi offers the best panorama of La Paz itself—accessible by walking, taxi, or bus. Parque Laikacota, at the top of Avenida Ejercito west of the city centre, gives you the best panorama from within the bowl, with clear sightlines all the way to Mount Illimani. Mirador Monticulo, next to Plaza España, has a clear view of Illimani and is an evening gathering spot. Avenida Camacho in downtown points directly toward Illimani's peak.
The Cemetery as Living Monument
The main cemetery near the bus station is unlike European cemeteries. It's a vast place with aisles of walls and holes like shelves, where ashes are bricked up and stored. Fronts are decorated with photos, artificial flowers, electronic ladybugs, and mini Coca Cola bottles—all very colourful and diverse. Some fronts have glass doors. The walls are multi-storey, and coloured ladders and platforms help visitors reach holes at various heights. There are crematorium facilities, buried graves, monuments, crypts, and mausoleums. The red cable car line offers a good view from above. The sheer visual variety and the way the cemetery reflects both death and life make it a compelling place to understand how La Paz's residents view mortality and memory.
At 3,650 metres above sea level, La Paz is the world's highest administrative capital. The city sits in a canyon surrounded by the Cordillera Real mountains, and Illimani's snow-capped peaks are visible from many streets. The rainy season runs from November to March; the dry season from April to October offers clearer skies and better views. Begin planning by deciding whether you want to focus on colonial architecture and museums, market immersion, mountain views, or some combination. A few days allows you to move between the crowded streets of the old city, the surreal landscapes outside it, and the cable car journeys that now connect La Paz to El Alto—a network that has become one of the city's defining experiences.