Things To Do in La Paz & La Paz Airport Layover Ideas
Things to do in La Paz if you have a La Paz Airport Layover or Extended La Paz Airport Stopover
Colonial churches
La Paz hosts several cathedrals belonging to the colonial times, including:
- San Francisco Cathedral - founded in 1548 (rebuilt in 1748)
- Metropolitan Cathedral - built in 1835, located on Murillo Square, next to the Presidential Palace (also known as the burned palace, due to its many fires)
Colonial architecture
The city of La Paz has a consistently decreasing volume of colonial buildings, mostly centered around the vicinity of the Plaza Murillo. Due to a lack of funds and the inability of property owners to pay for restorations to colonial buildings, many have been torn down, or are in a dilapidated state. As historic buildings are more expensive to keep, land owners find it less of a burden to construct more modern buildings as opposed to keeping the old ones. Although there has been an increasing number of projects and propositions to restore some of the city's colonial buildings, the future of these historic edifices remains uncertain.
Gustave Eiffel architecture
If you are a fan of architecture, check out La Paz Bus Station. Orininally built as both a bus and train station, it was built by the French architect Gustave Eiffel. Today, it is the main gateway for inter-city buses in Bolivia, as well as routes to Chile and Peru.
La Paz museums
Hundreds of different museums can be found across the city of La Paz, the most notable ones on Jaén Street, which street design has been preserved from the Spanish days and is home of 10 different museums.
La Paz museums include:
- The former home of Pedro Domingo Murillo, martyr of the independence revolution of 1809, has been preserved and is now a museum. The house displays a collection of furniture, textiles, and art from colonial times.
- Museo Costumbrista: Displays ceramic dolls wearing traditional customs that show how was life in the early 19th century. Also on display are photos of old La Paz.
- Museo Nacional de Arqueología (National Museum of Archeology): Depicts a collection of artifacts of the Tiawanaku culture.
- Museo del Litoral (Museum of the Litoral Coastal Region): Displays objects from the 1879 war in which Bolivia lost its sea coast to Chile.
- Museo del Oro (Gold Museum): Depicts pre-Conquest works made of gold, silver and copper.
- Museo de Etnografía y Folklore (Ethnography and Folkolore Museum): Located in a house built during the late 18th century, it exhibits customs and art of two ethnic groups: Chipayas and Ayoreos.
- Museo del Charango (Museum of Charango): Located in Calle Linares, the museum displays an important variety of charangos. Other native instruments are displayed as well.
- Museo de Historia Natural (Natural History Museum): Exhibits on Bolivian paleontology, geology, zoology and botanical elements of interest.
- Casa Museo Marina Nuñez del Prado (Marina Nuñez del Prado House Museum): Displays Quechua and Aymara-theme sculptures by Bolivian artist Marina Nuñez del Prado.
- Museo Nacional de Arte (National Art Museum): Located in Calle Comercio, on a former palace built in 1775, displays works by Melchor Perez de Holguín and Marina Nuñez del Prado, among others.
La Paz markets
La Paz has interesting markets and ubusual shopping opportunities, including:
- Thursday and Sunday market, (In big area at the right side of the road from La Paz; Che Guevara statue is a good starting point)). Lots of everyday stuff like food, used and new clothes, toys, kitchen tools, CDs, and not so everyday like sewing machines (600 or so in one place - from classic Singers to strange "robots"), furniture. The market is an atraction in itself - you can buy stuff, see people, eat local food.
- Mercado de Brujas (Witches' Market) (Calle Linares between Sagarnaga and Santa Cruz): Merchandise sold here includes herbs, remedies and other ingredients. Vendors sell llama fetuses and dried frogs for Aymara rituals, as well as soapstone figurines and aphrodisiac formulas.
- Traditional musical instruments (by the Witches' Market, or near Che Guevara statue): You can find charango and other Bolivian musical instruments. You can buy "user manuals" as well to help you getting started.
More La Paz Airport Transfer & Airport Connection Options
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