Columbus Palace Hotel, La Paz

Advantages: Amazing sights, very cheap, unique city, great shopping
Disadvantages: Altitude sickness, hard to get around

...in the Hotel Andes which gave us a full american breakfast each morning and a laundry service for a few dollars, but any guide book (or taxi driver for that matter) will point you in the direction of numerous such hotels. PLACES TO EAT As with any major city there are huge numbers of restaurants in most areas, and it is generally a case of exploring. There are no real 'restaurant districts' as such, though you find a fair concentration around tourist areas such as the Witches' Market. My favourite restaurant (possibly in the world) is a place called the Inca Palace, right above the main Western Union Bank in the centre of La Paz. They serve excellent pasta dishes, but their speciality is red meat. Two favourites were the fillet steak, served on a stone plate fired in a kiln so that the steak keeps cooking as you eat it, and the Meat Platter... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Experiencing a different culture
Disadvantages: Possibly experiencing high altitude sickness

...We went to La Paz for 3 days in September 2006. We flew from Buenos Aires and arrived at the airport in La Paz and immediately noticed how different we felt. The air was very thin and we had to slow down. We had been warned to take it easy and providing you take the advice seriously, there is no reason why you cannot enjoy the delights of La Paz. After checking into our hotel we had a stroll around the wonderful markets, decided where to return the following day and then headed back to the hotel for an early night. It is wise to have a long sleep, so arriving in La Paz at night is a good start, so that you can go to bed more or less straight away. I was not too keen about eating from the market stalls even though the smells were delicious, instead we ate at our hotel which had an excellent restaurant. We did buy popcorn... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: beautiful
Disadvantages: altitude sickness

...I visited La Paz a few years ago. The city is the highest anywhere - many people suffer altitude sickness for a day or two, although we found that it wasn't too bad when we took it very easy to start with! The city is very beautiful - set in snow - capped mountains. There are many historic areas, as well as many new (half - built) houses. A great place to buy Bolivian goods - fabrics etc. Take warm clothes even in the summer - you can tan and catch cold at the same time. I cannot wait to get back there - a real adventure of a city if you care to look.... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful