Asuncion is the laid-back capital of Paraguay. It is friendly and easy to navigate and a great place to see ornate but crumbling early 20th century architecture that hints at a prosperous past. I’ll do another post to showcase the street art on display on the decaying facades (one person’s graffiti is another’s art..). Here I’ll focus here on some highlights of the old town and surrounding area.
The city sits on the Paraguay River and you can stroll along the corniche and admire the views of the city and the several beaches that must be quite popular in the summer months. I visited in August, which is winter in the Southern Hemisphere, so while it was sunny there was a definite chill in the air; not beach weather in other words.
On the water-front you can find this water organ, which plays mournful melodies. These are apparently ‘guarania’ tunes, a genre of music invented to represent the character of the Paraguayan people.
It is exceptionally beautiful and calm down by the river, if you can ignore the steams of traffic behind you on the main highway out of town towards the bridge in the distance, which takes you to the airport.
There are many fine old buildings to see in the old town, including the Governor’s Palace above, just off the river front, and the railway station below, both dating from 1850s and 1860s. The railway station has not been in use for many years as Paraguay has no functioning railway network.
The view into the station platforms is shown below. It’s now a museum and there are some carriages visible through the gates but no locos.
There always seemed to be a large police presence outside the National Pantheon of the Heroes but on my final morning there seemed to be a special display of military might – not sure what the occasion was but there was also a street market being set up as if for a national holiday.
There is some beautiful late 19th and early 20th century architecture to be seen, unfortunately in a bad state of repair. The effect is very atmospheric though and hints at a time when this city was a commercial hub in South America. Several of the most ornate buildings were once hotels but now seem to be shuttered up.
There was clearly also a building boom in the 1930’s as evidenced by some fine examples of Art Deco design.
I’ll end with the view through my hotel window, which had external fixed metal blinds so you could only peer through the slats. This design feature suggests that interiors need to be protected from the sun as much as possible in the summer – from what I read it can get pretty unpleasant here at some times of the year. In the foreground is the National Bank, with the flags on the roof.
