Asunción

Updated October 2026

Overview and Things to Consider

Asunción is the capital that the South America circuit flies over. Founded in 1537, it is one of the oldest cities on the continent and was once called the Mother of Cities, because the expeditions that founded Buenos Aires and Santa Cruz de la Sierra set out from here. Today it's a city of about 462,000 inside its limits, according to the 2022 census, and around 2.5 million in a sprawl that runs into Luque, San Lorenzo and Lambaré. The center is a grid of faded 19th-century government buildings, shady plazas and broken pavement, and the money has moved east to the towers and malls of Villa Morra and Carmelitas.

You'll like Asunción if you enjoy places that aren't performing for you. Nobody hands you a city card or steers you to a rooftop. People drink tereré, cold yerba mate, from shared horn cups in the plazas, chipa sellers work the buses, and two languages mix in every conversation. You'll hate it if you want a checklist of famous sights, easy English or a city that's pleasant to walk in January, when highs average 93°F (34°C). Even Wikivoyage opens its page by admitting the city lacks well-known attractions.

The 2026 moment is mostly about money and the river. The city spent the early 2020s turning its waterfront into the Costanera, a riverside avenue and promenade that gained its southern section in July 2024, and it hosted the Junior Pan American Games in August 2025, with the full Pan American Games coming in 2031. Meanwhile the guaraní has strengthened sharply. If you remember Paraguay as the place where your dollars went furthest, that's less true than it was in early 2025.

What's overrated is the shopping. Paraguay's reputation for cheap electronics draws day trippers, and Mercado 4 sells counterfeit clothes by the rack, but none of that is a reason to come. Give your time to the Museo del Barro, a Sunday on the Costanera and a day trip into the hills and lake towns east of the city, where the country you came to see actually lives.

How Asunción Got Here

Juan de Salazar y Espinosa founded a fort on a sheltered bay of the Paraguay River in August 1537 and named it for the Feast of the Assumption, celebrated on August 15. When natives destroyed Buenos Aires in 1542, its Spaniards fled upriver, and Asunción ran a colonial province that took in parts of today's Argentina and Brazil. The early alliances and seizures between Spanish settlers and Guaraní women produced the mestizo, bilingual country you hear on the street now.

Independence was plotted in 1811 in the house now kept as the Casa de la Independencia, and the 19th century built most of what you'll walk past downtown. Carlos Antonio López brought one of South America's first railways in 1861, and his son Francisco Solano López built the Palacio de López before leading Paraguay into the War of the Triple Alliance from 1864 to 1870. Brazilian troops took Asunción on January 1, 1869 and stayed until 1876, and historians' estimates of the country's losses run as high as two-thirds of its people. That war, the Chaco War with Bolivia from 1932 to 1935, and Alfredo Stroessner's 35-year dictatorship, which ended in a 1989 coup, explain why the center feels frozen and why the airport, which carried Stroessner's name, was renamed.

Getting There and Around

You'll land at Silvio Pettirossi International (ASU) in Luque, about 10 kilometers from downtown, which handled 1,323,613 passengers in 2025. There's no nonstop flight from North America. Air Europa's Madrid route is the only one that leaves the continent, so most visitors connect through Panama City on Copa, Bogotá on Avianca, Lima or Santiago on LATAM, or São Paulo on LATAM or Gol. Aerolíneas Argentinas, JetSMART and Paranair all fly from Buenos Aires-Aeroparque, and LATAM adds Montevideo from December 28, 2026. The renovated north concourse, finished in May 2023, greatly expanded the arrivals hall.

Getting into town is cheap if you plan ahead. City bus 30-A stops about 200 meters to the right of the terminal and takes about an hour to the center, but it doesn't run between 11pm and 5am, when many flights land, and it won't take cash. Since October 2020 every Asunción bus needs a prepaid Jaha or Más card, and Jaha's official price for the card is ₲25,000 (about $4.20), so a first-night bus ride is rarely realistic. Wikivoyage reports that the taxis outside the terminal charge a flat ₲100,000 (about $17) to the center. Bolt works here, and its own estimate for an 18-kilometer ride from Barrio Obrero, south of the center, to the airport was about ₲51,500 ($9).

Entry is easy now. Americans, Canadians, Australians and New Zealanders get 90 days without a visa under Law 7314 of August 13, 2024, which Paraguay's immigration office lists as valid until August 13, 2027, so check again if you're traveling after mid-2027. British and EU passport holders are visa-free for 90 days under long-standing agreements. Canada asks for six months of passport validity beyond your departure, and the UK says valid for your stay. If you arrive overland, make sure you get an entry stamp at the border. The UK warns that bus drivers sometimes say you can do it in Asunción, and you'll be fined when you leave if you didn't. Bring a yellow fever certificate if you're coming from a country with transmission risk.

In town, buses cost ₲3,400 with air conditioning and ₲2,300 without, as of 2026. There are few official stops, so you flag them down, and route variants like 16, 16.1 and 16.2 go different ways, so check Moovit or Google Maps before you step on. Drivers often only slow down to let you off. Taxis run on the meter with a surcharge of around 30% after about 10pm and on Sundays, and tipping isn't expected. Bolt runs ordinary cars, a women-for-women option and motorbike rides, and Uber competes with it. The historic center is small enough to walk. Cross streets carefully, because many drivers treat red lights as advice.

What's Changed Since 2016

October 23, 2020: cash disappeared from the buses. From that date every city bus required an electronic card from one of two providers, Jaha or Más, and you buy it at supermarkets, kiosks and pharmacies. For locals it ended a lot of fumbling for change. For visitors it means your first errand is buying a card, and Jaha now posts a warning on its own site that the card costs ₲25,000 and nobody should charge you more.

October 2021, extended August 2024: the visa requirement for Americans went away. Law 6790 of 2021 dropped visas for tourists from the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand for three years, and Law 7314 of August 13, 2024 renewed the waiver until August 13, 2027. Guidebooks printed before 2021 still tell Americans to get a visa first.

June 2020 to July 2024: the river came back into the city. The Costanera's first stretch opened in December 2012, the Costanera Norte extension toward Primer Presidente opened in June 2020, and the southern section, Costanera Héroes del 70, opened in July 2024, about 15.8 kilometers in all. On Sundays and holidays the bayside lanes close to cars. In March 2024 the cable-stayed Héroes del Chaco Bridge opened across the river toward Nueva Asunción and the Chaco highway.

August 2025: Asunción hosted the Junior Pan American Games, with 3,975 athletes from 41 nations between August 9 and 23, and events along the northern Costanera. In October 2025 the city was chosen to host the 2031 Pan American Games, which means more venue building through the decade.

March 2025 to September 2026: Paraguay got more expensive in dollars. The Banco Central del Paraguay reference rate was ₲7,994 per dollar on March 31, 2025, ₲7,334 on August 6, 2025 and ₲5,918 on September 16, 2026. If prices in guaraníes had stood still, that alone would make your trip about a third more expensive than it was in early 2025.

What the Usual Advice Gets Wrong

"Paraguay is the cheapest country in South America, and you can get by on $7 to $14 a day." That figure still sits on Wikivoyage's Paraguay page, but the guaraní strengthened from ₲7,994 to ₲5,918 per dollar between March 2025 and September 2026. A dorm in Asunción starts around US$11.55 on Hostelworld, and a meal in a cheap restaurant runs about ₲35,000 ($6). Plan on about $35 a day at the bottom.

"Americans need to get a Paraguayan visa before they go." Not since October 2021. US, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand tourists get 90 days visa-free, and the current law runs until August 13, 2027, according to Paraguay's immigration office. The real paperwork trap is overland, where you must get your entry stamp at the border, not later in Asunción.

"The Jesuit missions are an easy day out from Asunción." Trinidad and Jesús de Tavarangue, the UNESCO-listed missions, are near Encarnación in the far south, about 30 kilometers beyond it. La Encarnacena's direct bus to Encarnación costs ₲120,000 (about $20) each way, and Wikivoyage puts the trip at about 7 hours on ordinary services. Go for at least two nights. In Asunción, the closest you'll get is the cathedral's altar, decorated with Jesuit and Franciscan silver.

"Cool off with a swim in the river or out at Lake Ypacaraí." The UK and Canada both say the Paraguay River around Asunción is highly polluted and unsuitable for swimming, and the UK says to check official advice before swimming in Lake Ypacaraí. The Costanera is for walking, running and sunsets. For a swim, find a hotel or hostel pool.

"Change your cash with the guys at the airport or on the street." The UK warns that fake banknotes are common in street and airport exchanges. Asunción's regular cambios trade dollars within about 1% of the interbank rate, according to Wikivoyage, and most ATMs charge ₲25,000 per foreign-card withdrawal, so take out larger amounts less often and use machines inside buildings.

Ideas to Consider for Your Visit

Have you thought about walking the old center in one loop, starting early before the heat? Begin at La Recova, the colonial arcades at the foot of Calle Colón near the port, then follow El Paraguayo Independiente to the Palacio de López, the government palace from 1857. Opposite, the Manzana de la Rivera is a block of restored colonial houses. Carry on past the modern Congress building to the old Cabildo and the cathedral, then up to the Panteón Nacional de los Héroes, modeled on Les Invalides and finished in 1937, and the Casa de la Independencia, where the 1811 revolt was planned. Finish at the old railway station by Plaza Uruguaya, where the 1861 steam engine Sapucai sits in a small museum.

Spend an afternoon at the Museo del Barro at Grabadores del Cabichuí 2716, the best museum in the city. It is three collections in one, indigenous art, popular ceramics and contemporary Paraguayan art, and it changes how you see the handicrafts you'll pass on Calle Palma. It opens 2pm to 8pm, Tuesday to Saturday. Entry is ₲50,000 (about $8.50) Tuesday to Thursday and free on Friday and Saturday.

Eat the starches. Chipa, the cassava-starch and cheese roll, is sold warm from cloth-lined baskets on buses and street corners, and its roots go back to the Guaraní of Asunción. Sopa paraguaya isn't soup but a dense, cheesy cornbread, and chipa guasu is its softer, fresh-corn cousin. For a sit-down version of the national cooking, Bolsi at Estrella and Alberdi has fed the center since 1960, with soyo, a meat soup served with tortillas, from ₲28,000. Lido Bar, open since July 1953, still serves sopa de surubí, a river-fish soup. At night, look for lomito stands, steak sandwiches with a fried egg on top.

Drink tereré the way locals do. It's yerba mate with ice water and crushed herbs called pohã ñana, passed around a group in one guampa cup with one bombilla straw, and UNESCO added the practice to its intangible heritage list on December 17, 2020. A 500-gram bag of Pajarito yerba costs ₲12,350 at a Stock supermarket if you want to bring the habit home.

Take the bus to Areguá, about 20 kilometers east on the shore of Lake Ypacaraí. Buses leave from the main bus terminal and pass Shopping del Sol, and the ride costs a normal city fare. The town was named a UNESCO Creative City of crafts and folk arts in 2019 for its pottery, Avenida del Lago runs from the hilltop church down to the lake, and during its month-long Strawberry Expo it sells strawberries in every form, from juice to empanadas. Walk up Cerro Koi, a hill known for its hexagonal sandstone formations, then come back before dark.

Cross the river from the old port. Small motorboats run about 25 minutes to Chaco'i on the far bank, and the view back across the bay to the skyline is the best one of the city you'll get. Come back before sunset, because there's nowhere decent to eat or sleep over there. On the city side, Loma San Jerónimo, one of Asunción's seven hills and named for a hermitage that once stood there, is worth a daytime wander.

The Part Most Guides Miss

The bay is a bird reserve. The Bahía de Asunción, about 522 hectares at the city's northern edge, has been a protected reserve since 2005, and 269 bird species have been recorded there, 19 of them migrants from North America. More than 3% of the world's buff-breasted sandpipers use it on their southward migration, enough to make it an Important Bird Area. Most guides treat the Costanera along its edge as a jogging track. Come on a Sunday morning, when the bayside lanes are closed to cars, bring binoculars, and you'll share it with families and shorebirds from the Arctic, inside a capital of 2.5 million.

Where to Base Yourself

Centro Histórico. The base for walking, history and the hostel scene. El Nómada, a converted colonial house that won Hostelworld's top Paraguay award for 2025, Patagonia Hostel and the Mediterraneo all sit within about 700 meters of the center, with dorms from about US$11.55. The catch is that the microcentro empties out from Saturday afternoon through Sunday, and the streets near the port and Chacarita are unsafe after dark.

Villa Morra and Carmelitas. Where Asunción's money lives, and where you'll eat dinner. Shopping del Sol, Shopping Mariscal López and the Paseo Carmelitas food and bar complex keep going on weekends when downtown is shut, and the business district along Avenida Aviadores del Chaco and Avenida Santa Teresa holds the international chain hotels. It's newer and tidier. You'll need buses 28 or 30, or Bolt, to get back to the old town.

Las Mercedes and Jara. The middle path for a longer stay. These leafy residential barrios sit between the center and Villa Morra, about 1.5 kilometers east of downtown, with posadas and small hotels on quieter streets than either end. You're a short Bolt ride from both ends of town, but you'll walk less and ride more.

Realities to Be Aware Of

Money first. With the guaraní at ₲5,918 per dollar in mid-September 2026, a budget day is about $35, made of a Hostelworld dorm from US$11.55, three cheap meals at about ₲35,000 ($6) each and a few ₲3,400 bus rides. Mid-range means a private room, from about US$14 at El Nómada or US$32 at Patagonia Hostel on Hostelworld and more in a hotel, Bolt instead of buses, and a three-course dinner that Wikivoyage prices at about ₲200,000 ($34). Tipping is uncommon and service is usually in the bill. Most ATMs charge ₲25,000 per withdrawal on a foreign card, and the UK says you may be asked for photo ID when you pay by card.

Safety needs more attention than the city's sleepy reputation suggests. Canada updated its advice on September 11, 2026 and tells travelers to exercise a high degree of caution in Paraguay because of increasing crime, naming Chacarita, Fernando de la Mora, Limpio, Luque, Mariano Roque Alonso, Ñemby, San Lorenzo and Villa Elisa as higher-crime areas of greater Asunción. It also warns of armed muggers on motorbikes and of robbers who follow people from ATMs. The UK says bag-snatching and pickpocketing are a problem on buses and that you must always carry ID, at least a copy of your passport photo page and entry stamp. Women traveling alone report frequent catcalling. Use ATMs inside buildings, and keep your phone out of sight on the bus.

Health is mostly mosquitoes. Dengue and chikungunya are both risks, and the mosquitoes that carry dengue bite by day, so wear repellent from morning on, especially in the hot, wet months. Private clinics in Asunción are good and expect payment up front, so carry insurance. Dial 911 for police and 141 for an ambulance. Canada also notes occasional water cuts in the capital, worse during droughts, and power outages even in big cities.

Language and norms are their own adjustment. Spanish is the main language for about 57% of Asunción's people, Guaraní for 11%, and 27% speak Jopará, a mix of the two, while English is rare outside hotels and tour desks, so learn some Spanish before you come. Same-sex activity is legal and there's a small, active LGBT+ community in the city, but same-sex marriage isn't recognized and public affection between same-sex couples draws disapproval, according to the UK. About 90% of the city is Catholic, and Caacupé's December 8 festival, east of the city, drew about 1.5 million visitors in 2019.

If Asunción Is Part of a Longer Trip

Asunción sits at the hinge between Argentina, Brazil and Bolivia, and the best way to use it is as a stop on an overland loop rather than an out-and-back. South to the missions, La Encarnacena runs direct buses to Encarnación daily at 00:30, 08:30, 12:00 and 17:00 for ₲120,000. From Encarnación, buses toward Ciudad del Este pass Trinidad in about 45 minutes, and local buses cross the bridge to Posadas in Argentina. East, buses take 5 to 7 hours to Ciudad del Este, across the river from Foz do Iguaçu and the falls.

The long hauls are tougher. Buenos Aires is about 17 hours by bus, which is why most people fly it on Aerolíneas Argentinas, JetSMART or Paranair. The once-daily night bus across the Chaco to Santa Cruz in Bolivia takes 21 to 24 hours and cost about US$80 in October 2025, close enough to the airfare that BoA or Paranair often make more sense. Paranair also flies to Montevideo in Uruguay, with LATAM joining from December 28, 2026.

If Paraguay is one stop on a longer trip around South America, don't route through it on two separate returns. Because there's no nonstop to North America, it slots naturally into a multi-city ticket that enters through São Paulo, Panama City or Lima and leaves from Buenos Aires or Rio de Janeiro. That kind of routing is fiddly to price alone, and it's what AirTreks builds. Overland, the natural order is Iguazú, Ciudad del Este, Asunción, Encarnación and the missions, then out to Posadas and Argentina.

Yearly Things to Consider

Heat sets the calendar. December through February averages highs of 91°F to 93°F (33°C to 34°C) with heavy humidity, and the wettest stretch runs from October to December, peaking at 7.7 inches in November. Canada expects El Niño to bring heavy rain on top of the December to March rainy season in 2026 and 2027. Rain eases from June through September, with the coolest days in July at an average high of 71°F (22°C).

The counterintuitive pick is August and early September. August is the driest month, at 1.5 inches, highs are around 79°F (26°C), and from July to September the lapacho trees that line the avenues bloom pink and yellow across the city. The trade-off is smoke. Canada says bush fires are common from mid-July to December, mostly in the northern departments, and smoke worsens the air near them. Canada also notes road accidents rise over the December and January holidays, a poor time for long bus rides.

Ideas for Itineraries

3 Days in Asunción

Day one, walk the old center early, from La Recova and the Palacio de López through the Manzana de la Rivera, the cathedral and the Panteón to the old railway station, with lunch at Bolsi and the sunset from the Costanera. Day two, spend the morning at Mercado 4 for street food and noise, then the Museo del Barro from 2pm, and have dinner in Villa Morra or at the Paseo Carmelitas. Day three, ride out to Areguá for the potters, the lake and Cerro Koi, and be back in the city by dark.

5 Days in Asunción

Add the river and a church town. On day four, take a boat from the old port to Chaco'i in the morning, then walk up Loma San Jerónimo in the afternoon. On day five, head southeast to Yaguarón, whose Templo de San Buenaventura has a baroque wooden interior, or go east to Caacupé's basilica. Plan one of your five days for a Sunday, when the Costanera's bayside lanes close to cars and families take them over.

1 Week in Asunción

A week lets you reach the missions. Take La Encarnacena's 08:30 direct bus to Encarnación, spend a day at Trinidad and Jesús de Tavarangue, which share a ticket, and stay at least two nights, since the ride alone eats most of a day. Back in Asunción, give the last day to a slow afternoon in Plaza Uruguaya, ringed by bookstores, with a tereré.

2 Weeks or More in Asunción

For two weeks or longer, rent in Las Mercedes, Jara or Villa Morra rather than the microcentro, which dies on weekends. Villa Morra and Carmelitas have the malls, cafés and restaurants that stay open on weekends. For weekends, go to San Bernardino on Lake Ypacaraí in summer, ride to Ciudad del Este and over to Iguazú, take La Encarnacena's ₲60,000 bus to Pilar on the river, or head up the Chaco to the Mennonite towns around Filadelfia, about 8 hours by bus. Use the time to learn some Guaraní, which will open more doors than better Spanish.

Sources

What this guide is built on. Every page below was read for this guide; prices and rules were checked in October 2026.

• Información sobre Visas (archived May 10, 2026), Dirección General de Migraciones, Paraguay (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• Ley N° 6790/21 que establece medidas temporales para incentivar la reactivación turística, BaseLegal Paraguay (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• Paraguay travel advice: entry requirements, UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• Paraguay travel advice: safety and security, UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• Paraguay travel advice: health, UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• Travel advice and advisories for Paraguay, Government of Canada (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• Cotización Referencial de Monedas (archived September 17, 2026), Banco Central del Paraguay (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• Asunción, Wikipedia (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• Asunción, Wikivoyage (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• Paraguay, Wikivoyage (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• Silvio Pettirossi International Airport, Wikipedia (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• Bolt in Asunción, Bolt (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• How to get from Hospital de Barrio Obrero to Asuncion Silvio Pettirossi Airport, Bolt (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• Jaha, Jaha billetaje electrónico (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• Destinos y Horarios, La Encarnacena (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• Museo del Barro, Museo del Barro (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• Bolsi, desde 1960, Bolsi (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• Lido Bar, sabor y tradición, Lido Bar (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• Hostels in Asuncion, Hostelworld (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• Búsqueda: chipa, Stock supermercados (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• Búsqueda: pilsen, Stock supermercados (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• Búsqueda: yerba, Stock supermercados (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• Costanera de Asunción, Wikipedia (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• Héroes del Chaco Bridge, Wikipedia (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• 2025 Junior Pan American Games, Wikipedia (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• Trinidad (Paraguay)), Wikivoyage (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• Encarnación, Wikivoyage (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• Chipa, Wikipedia (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• Sopa paraguaya, Wikipedia (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• Tereré, Wikipedia (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• Areguá, Wikipedia (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• Time in Paraguay, Wikipedia (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• Southern Paraneña, Wikivoyage (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• Bahía de Asunción, Wikipedia (Spanish) (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
• Caacupé, Wikipedia (accessed Oct 3, 2026)