Paraguay is definitely not the most visited destination of South America. Some tourists happen to pass through the country on their way to Brasil, Uruguay or Argentina and even less decide to spend more time in the country itself. That said, they all have one thing in common: Asuncion. In fact, if a tourist enters the country, we can assure you there’s a 100% chance of him/her, to pass through and at least spend one/two days in the paraguayan capital.
In terms of atmosphere, we felt like Asuncion was very similar to capitals we visited while wondering the lands of Central America. A generally boiling climate, insane car drivers, chaos on the streets and, sadly, a good deal of poverty due to the country low economy. Luckily, against all the odds of becoming a dangerous city, Asuncion can be considered pretty safe. There are, like every city, some dodgy spots that you might want to avoid, but overall you can wander the streets of the capital even at night.
TIP: If you really want to try some A-M-A-Z-I-N-G icecream definitely make a stop at one of the several Amandau ice cream parlours scattered around the city.
Marta enjoying a short stop at Amandau
The city that always sleeps
There’s no better way than getting you ready for Asuncion than telling you its like a city that always sleeps. After spending a whole month there volunteering on Workaway, there has not been a single day where we felt the city was actually “busy”. Even Calle Palma, commonly known as the busiest street of the old center, doesn’t really ever get many people.
That is something unexpected for a country’s capital and something we are surely not used to. For example, during weekends the already half-empty streets become completely empty and the whole Asuncion shifts from small pueblito to ghost town. But like everything, the city being like also has some great positives. Did we mention noise? Yep, during weekends the city becomes an oasis of peace and quietness that you wouldn’t find anywhere else. If you fancy exploring the urban architecture of the old city center, that’s the time to go. A good thing is that city buses are very efficient network spread in & out the city and are crazy cheap (2300Gs without ac, 3500Gs with ac).
The average “non-ac” bus
New Center, New Life
Nevertheless, there’s a part of the city that actually never sleeps. Over the years, the old center has been gradually left behind for what today several locals and tourist call the Nuevo Centro. Shortly, the nuevo centro is just a conglomerate of west-styled shops, inside or around the two biggest city’s mall: Shopping del Sol and Galeria Los Heroes. Planning to see life on a tranquil weekend, watch a new movie in original language or repair your Mac (sadly the latter for us) ? This is indeed the place to go!
>Read here the Top 10 Things to do in Asuncion<
Don’t get us wrong, we’re not fans of the Nuevo Centro. Much alive our experience in the capital of El Salvador, the new center does take away the charm of the city in exchange for globalisation. Unfortunately, this change has negatively impacted, or better said literally degraded, the once fascinating city centre with a colonial twist. But hey, not all travellers enjoy the same things!
Lovely architecture of El Cabildo
So is it worth to visit Asuncion?
And here’s the fateful question, is visiting Asuncion really worth your time? Yes, by all means if you have the chance, drop by to take a look. If you really like cities plan to stay a bit less than a week to take in all the sights but if you’re not a fan probably anything around 3 days will be just enough for Asuncion. Nevertheless, the capital is a great place to set up basecamp since the cheapest accomodation options of the country are found them here.
More questions about Asuncion? Feel free to drop us a comment below 🙂
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