As Paraguay’s capital, Asuncion is home to the country’s best selection of sightseeing attractions and visitors can feast their eyes on everything from fine old churches to temples and palaces. The Panteon de los Heroes, with its tombs of members of the Lopez dynasty, is the one place you should definitely not miss out on.

Casa de los Diputados
Now a government building, the House of Deputies has been many things during its existence, including a convent, a blood bank during the Chaco War, a military museum and a cultural centre. Although visitors are no longer permitted access to its interior, they are still able to admire the magnificent neoclassical facade of this Spanish colonial building.

Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Asuncion
Though this building has undergone recent renovations, it still includes some parts that date back as far as 1687. The building serves as the seat of the Archdiocese of Asunción and has a splendid interior that includes a huge gilded altar and religious artworks from the 1700s and 1800s.

Palacio de los Lopez
This splendid stately building is located in a scenic spot that overlooks the banks of the Paraguay River. Construction of the palace began in 1857 but was not completed until the late 1800s. Built originally to serve as the private residence of General Francisco Solano Lopez, the palace is now the seat of the government of Paraguay and houses the regular office of the country’s president.

Palacio Legislativo
While Jose Gaspar Rodriguez de Francia was in control of Paraguay, citizens were not even permitted sight of this building from the outside, never mind the inside. Today, however, locals and visitors alike can enter the grounds and the building itself and see the room in which the country’s constitution was ratified in 1870. The building was a single-storey structure until 1857 when a second floor was added.

Panteon de los Heroes
Construction of the Temple of Heroes began in 1864 during the reign of Francisco Solano Lopez but completion was not seen until the late 1930s following the conclusion of the Chaco Wars. The building houses the bodies of both Francisco Solano Lopez and his father Carlos Antonio Lopez, as well as those of Bernardino Caballero and other important Paraguayan military and political figures. The Temple is considered Paraguay’s most prominent historic symbol.