Plan an unforgettable trip to La Paz, the capital of Bolivia! Here are the BEST things to do in La Pa Bolivia:
View of Saint Francis Square from Hotel Presidente in La Paz, Bolivia
La Paz, the Capital of Bolivia
If you’re planning a trip to Bolivia, you’ll most likely start in La Paz, especially if you’re coming directly from the United States. If not, you’ll probably end up there at some point — maybe on your way back from Sucre or on the way to Lake Titicaca.
We arrived to La Paz on our first day in Bolivia and spent the night there before leaving for our Uyuni Salt Flats tour the next day. We also spent our last night there before flying to Peru the next morning.
La Paz Airport
La Paz’s airport, El Alto, is the highest international airport in the world. Takeoffs and landings require a longer runway due to the thin air. At 13,300+ feet above sea level, it’s already almost half as high as a plane’s normal cruising altitude!
What are the Best Things To Do in La Paz Bolivia?
If this is your first time in La Paz, here are the best things to do in La Paz so you don’t miss any of the highlights! One day is enough time to do everything on this list.
Mi Teleférico
La Paz Bolivia has the COOLEST metro system in the world!!! Instead of trains or buses, they have cable cars to get all over the city!!
The cable cars offer amazing views of the city!! There are currently 6 lines, but there are 5 more in the works. We took the red line up to the top where there was a scenic overlook.
Start at the red line station {GPS Location} (about a 10-15 minute walk from the center) and buy a round-trip ticket to ride all the way to top where you can get off, check out the overlook, then ride back down to where you started.
The Witches’ Market
The Witches’ Market in La Paz Bolivia is infamous for selling potions for rituals and offerings, but mostly we just saw a lot of vibrant, colorful textiles.
You can buy all your souvenirs here: super soft sweaters, blankets, scarves, gloves, socks and more all made from super soft baby alpaca wool.
Saint Francis Square (Plaza San Francisco)
Visit the Museum San Francisco to climb the church tower for a unique view of La Paz Bolivia. Also check out the night market in the square here!
Plaza Murillo
Plaza Murillo is the central plaza in the heart of old town La Paz. Surrounding the square is the Presidential Palace, National Congress of Bolivia, and the Cathedral of La Paz.
La Paz Bolivia Walking Tour
If you’ve got extra time in La Paz, you can take a walking tour around the city with Red Cap Tours to learn about the the people, history, and customs of La Paz. Tours start every day from Plaza San Pedro at 11 AM and 2 PM and last 2-3 hours. There’s no need to book in advance, you can just show up to the plaza. Look for the guide in the red cap.
La Paz Hotels
I highly recommend the Hotel Presidente! The rooms are so bright, spacious, and airy. The hotel is extremely well located right in the heart of old town La Paz Bolivia, overlooking Saint Francis Square. As you can see from the first photo in this post, there’s an amazing view of the square from the hotel!! There’s an ATM literally right across the street. Breakfast and Wi-Fi are included. The coffee at breakfast was SO good! It was hands down the best we had in Bolivia. They also have an omelet station for breakfast.
The bathrooms are very modern with lots of counter space. There was plenty of hot water in the shower.
We highly recommend the Hotel Presidente in La Paz Bolivia!
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Will it be hard to travel here if you dont know Spanish? Or people talks in English too?
Knowing a few basic words/phrases in Spanish will definitely be an asset, but you can get around with Google Translate. There will always be someone at the hotel who speaks English who can help you, but maybe the taxi driver won’t speak English. Have a great trip!
Yesterday was talking weight loss with my sister and did as I do at least once a year, visited your post on it! This morning your page was still up on my computer so I clicked around a bit. Holy COW you have some gorgeous pictures and great adventures!
Waving hi!
Hello! LOVE your blog! Just wanted to ask about Greece. We are going in June and wanted to go to Navagio/Shipwreck Beach. We will be in Athens. Did you have your driver take you there? How long did it take from Athens? Or did you fly? Just not sure the distance from Athens. Thanks so much!
Hi Julie! Yes, we took a tour with Hellenic Private Tours and we added in Navagio Beach as one of the stops. We didn’t go straight there from Athens though, we visited Corinth and Nafplio, then spent the night in Olympia. We went to Navagio the next day. Hope this helps!