AsuncionTraveller.info

Asuncion City Guide

admin — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 12:00:57 +0000

For a time, Asunción was an important city to the Spanish colonial administration. It was an easier sail from Spain: across the Atlantic, up the Río de la Plata, hop over to the Río Paraguay and use the growing port as a staging area to the rest of the South American heartland.Asunción developed along the river bank.

To the east of the river, fertile land supported the growing population and the city thrived. Buildings from the colonial period attest to the prosperity of the city the Spanish enjoyed as almost a vacation resort.

Since then, the city has gone through a number or changes. Isolated and insulated for a time, Paraguay closed itself off to visitors. Wars, political upheavals and dictatorships made the country, and the capital city, a less desirable tourist destination.

In recent decades, however, Asunción is once again drawing visitors to the tropical climate, the friendliness of the Azuceños, and the gateway to the Gran Chaco.

Depending on the length of your stay in the city, you can limit yourself to the city’s sights or extend your visits to other areas of the country.

Bayern Stuben

admin — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 09:01:07 +0000

In this place you will experience a truly traditional german “vespen” or tratoria, tavern, pousada, taberna type of food. It is a gem located quite far from the city centre just outside the villamorra district. A taxi from downtown would cost you around 6USD. You better book in advance because it is a very popular small restaurant. It closes on mondays.

Selections of bread and german sausages.

Theme: German/Austrian

Price: US$11-20

Comparison: about average

Address: Sucre 2689 and Denis Roa

Phone: 595 21 604202

Directions: From the city centre by public transport, take the number 12 bus Lillo (not Mcal Lopez) and hop off by the Denis Roa Supermarket. the restaurant is less than 5min walking from there.

Bar@ka

admin — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 08:57:34 +0000

In the city center, in front of the Vice president building, Bar@ka is a Bar / Restaurant doing buffet for lunch, and you’ve also have pasta, pizza and other stuff on the Menu. Nice 42″ flat Plasma TV and sound system with international channels, perfect to watch Paraguayan and English football league match with a good cold beer on the leather sofa. For the singers, they also do Karaoke. There is also wifi connection for free. Perfect place for business men looking for some rest and a good cup of wine or beer.

The meat is great, the pasta and pizza are very good too, all is generally very good and everything is fresh. The buffet change all the days and there is sometimes fish included in the buffet. You’ve got of course the air-conditioning. And the waiters and very friendly.

Theme: Eclectic/International

Price: less than US$10

Comparison: less expensive than average

Address: 223 O’leary c/ Pte Franco

Phone: 00595-21-440785

Directions: Asuncion city center Near the Shoppping Britanica on Palma Street

Mariscal Lopez Shopping Plaza

admin — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 08:54:47 +0000

The Mariscal Lopez shopping and the Villa Morra Shopping just opposite are a great place for retail therapy or just a destination when you really need to escape the rather warm Paraguayan’s afternoons or siestas. you have supermakets, restaurants, ice cream parlors, cinemas, everything actually. Check their website! and TAKE ADVANTAGE of a 10% discount for tourists when you provide your ID at the reception desk.

Lots of options.

Theme: Other

Address: Quesada 5050 and Charles de Gaulle

Phone: 595 21 611 272

Directions: Villa Morra district, easy access by public transport from the City centre. Bus number: 12, 31, 15 and many others.

Palacio Legislativo

admin — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 08:48:23 +0000

During the Francia dictatorship, Paraguayans were not permitted to view the exterior of this building, but today you can even tour the interior. Paraguay’s constitution was proclaimed on the first floor of the Legislative Palace in 1870. The second floor was added in 1857, destroying the original symmetry of the single-story Jesuit design

Palacio de Gobierno

admin — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 08:47:16 +0000

The elegant horseshoe-shape Government Palace, with verandas and wide staircases, overlooks the bay. It’s only open to the public on most holidays, but gives tours on Thursday and Friday if you arrange it one day in advance.

Manzana de la Rivera

admin — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 08:45:36 +0000

In a model for urban planners everywhere, the city of Asunción combined this manzana (block) of nine historic houses near the river into a pleasing cultural center. The oldest of these, the 1764 Casa Viola, the name by which many Asunceños refer to the complex, serves as a small city museum called the Museo Memoria de la Ciudad. The Casa Emasa, once a customs office, now houses La Galería, the center’s art gallery. The 1914 art nouveau Casa Clari, the newest house, is the complex’s café.

Britannia Pub

admin — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 08:41:43 +0000

Britannia Pub is a place for ex-pats to congregate here for drinks, snack food, and conversation with acquaintances, old or new friends. Two floors with no smoking on the first floor, semi-open air on two floors, noisy, video monitor and music. It is open from Monday to Thursday from 6:30pm to 1:45am, Friday from 6:30pm to 3:30am, Saturday from 8pm to 3:30am, and on Sunday from 8pm to 1:45am. The telephone is +595 (21) 443990.

Plaza Uruguaya

admin — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 08:37:01 +0000

So named to honor Uruguay for returning territory it seized in the bloody Chaco War initiated by Paraguay, the plaza is a pleasant respite from the city’s heat. On one side is a covered market with a good selection of Latin American literature and on the other is the 1861 colonnaded railway station, shuttered since the discontinuation of rail service. In the terminal you can see a well-preserved old steam locomotive, the Sapucaí, no longer in use.

Plaza de los Héroes

admin — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 08:34:52 +0000

This plaza, whose centerpiece is the Panteón Nacional de los Héroes, is the heart of Asunción. Since the subtleties of Paraguayan life are laid bare in its busy plazas, this is a good place to rest in the shade and watch the locals. Guaraní vendors sell feather headdresses and bows and arrows, artisans display their pottery, and traveling salespeople hawk anything from patent cures to miracle knife sharpeners. You can also climb onto a high chair for a shoe shine or have your picture taken with an old box camera. On public holidays the square is often the scene of live music and folk-dance performances. The plaza’s northeast quadrant contains a monument to the victims of torture and execution under the Stroessner dictatorship.