Things to Do in Asunción, Paraguay

Quick facts: More than 700 workers labored around the clock to complete this presidential palace in just three years. Its distinctive pink facade comes from a local rose-colored stone that shifts hues throughout the day depending on the sunlight.

Highlights: The palace sits on the exact spot where Paraguay's first president, Carlos Antonio López, once had his private residence, making it a direct link to the nation's earliest days of independence. A little-known tunnel system beneath the building reportedly connects to the nearby Pantheon of Heroes, though its full extent has never been publicly mapped.

Quick facts: More than 4,000 ceramic pieces fill this museum, spanning from pre-Columbian artifacts to contemporary Paraguayan art. Its collection includes intricate Jesuit missions carvings, Indigenous textile works, and a surprising array of everyday clay objects used across centuries.

Highlights: A single room holds the "Museo del Diablo" exhibit: 200+ devil masks used in traditional Paraguayan festivals, each one carved by hand with expressions ranging from comical to terrifying. The masks hang floor to ceiling, creating the eerie sensation that dozens of different devils are watching visitors from every angle.

Quick facts: Stretching over 8 kilometers along the Paraguay River, this waterfront promenade offers panoramic views of the Río Paraguay and the Chaco region beyond. Local families flood here on weekends for tereré, bike rides, and watching the spectacular crimson sunsets that paint the river.

Highlights: On Sunday evenings, the promenade transforms into a giant outdoor living room where hundreds of Asuncenos set up folding chairs and blankets, sharing mate and nibbling chipa while the sky melts into fiery oranges and pinks over the river. The real magic happens during the annual Carnival parade when the 4-kilometer stretch becomes a river of sequins, feathers, and drumming that rivals Rio's energy but with zero tourist crowds.

Quick facts: Housed in a striking Neoclassical palace originally built for a Spanish diplomat, this museum safeguards over 3,000 pieces spanning 500 years of art history. Its collection includes works by Latin American masters like Tarsila do Amaral and Paraguayan artists such as Carlos Colombino, alongside European paintings from the 17th to 19th centuries.

Highlights: One room holds an entire wall of José Sánchez's "El Infierno" series, a feverish, almost hallucinatory depiction of Paraguay's social struggles painted with such raw emotion that visitors often stop mid-step. The museum also quietly displays indigenous featherwork and Jesuit-era carvings, blending colonial, modern and native traditions in ways most South American museums overlook.