The Best Neighborhoods of Asunción

Asunción is an interesting city. It's not very walkable, car dependent, doesn't have good infrastructure, yet I love it. It has some amazing restaurants, malls, and people. Paraguayans are very curious and welcoming to foreigners and the expats are some of the most interesting people you'll ever meet. I've spent a lot of time in Asuncion and have moved around a lot to really get a feel for the place. After nearly 2 years I can speak with authority as to the best neighborhoods to live in.

San Blas/Recoleta

Let's start with the very best. The best neighborhood in Asunción is Recoleta, particularly the San Blas area. Locals may incorrectly refer to it as Villa Morra, but if you look at a map it is clearly not Villa Morra.

What makes Recoleta so great is that it has everything you need in a single neighborhood. Recoleta hosts the shopping mall Mariscal. Which in my opinion is the best mall in asuncion. Surrounding the mall you have a Superseis grocery store, banks, currency exchanges, restaurants, and a relatively lively night scene. You also have the new "La Cuadrita", Asuncion's first pedestrian only street full of some of the best restaurants and bars in the country. It is also home to O'Gaucho which is one of the best steakhouses you'll go to in your life.

It's also spitting distance from Villa Morra proper and only a few minutes away from the "Zona Ejecutivo" which hosts Shopping Del Sol and Paseo la Galeria in addition to many hotels and the best rooftop bars in the city.

The last selling point is that its walkable and bikeable. There are dedicated bike lanes throughout the neighborhood and it is actually very walkable. There are many Cafe's and places to hang out and work during the day.

If you want a lively more upper class feel this is the place to be.

Villa Morra

When you read about Asuncion, Villa Morra is often toted as the best neighborhood. I believe Recoleta is much better but Villa Morra has its charm.

Villa Morra is the place to go if you value nightlife. It hosts the famous "Paseo Carmelitas" which is an entire dedicated restaurant and bar district. It's a very cool area and is also home to the main Cafe de Aca which is the best cafe in Asunción. You'll find plenty of pool halls, gyms, bars, and restaurants in the area. It also is home to the Hard Rock Cafe, which is surprisingly unbusy most of the time.

The nearest malls are in the Zona Ejecutiva which you can walk to in about 10-15 minutes, but a 1-2 minute bolt ride is often preferred.

Overall if nightlife is your main priority than Villa Morra is the best place to be, but if you want a more balanced neighborhood than Recoleta wins.

Manora/Las Lomas

This neighborhood is just above Villa Morra. It hosts Shopping Del Sol and various restaurants and cafe's. If you want to live in an area with more movement than stick to Manora (the Shopping Del Sol area). The rest of the neighborhood is fairly quiet and residential. You''ll find big mansions and private security all over the place, but you might be the only person walking around.

One more notable thing about this area is Parque de la Salud which is a large forested park and the best place to go for a run in Asunción. Right across the street you'll also find CAN (Centro Aquatico de Nacional" which is a huge indoor swimming pool where the Olympic Team trains. They also are adding a gym so it can be your all in one fitness area.

Overall if you want a mini Recoleta feel and fitness is a top priority this may be the best neighborhood for you. It is just a bit more quiet and has less movement. If that's something you value this may be a good fit.

Ykua Sati

This neighborhood hosts the Zona Ejecutivo in the northern area. The Paseo la Galeria (Paraguay's most famous mall) is nested in this neighborhood. There is also a good selection of stores and restaurants other than Paseo la Galeria. It also hosts a few MMA gyms if that's of interest to you.

There's also a section on the western side that host Roulette and Terraza del Lirio. These are the best rooftop nightclubs in Asunción. There's also a few high end lounge style clubs in the area as well.

The main downside with this neighborhood is that its very big and things are spread out. If you are looking for everything to be in walking distance, there are better options.

Las Mercedes/ Jara

These are two up in coming neighborhoods closer to the historic downtown. The Universidad Americana as well as various medical and other private schools, call this neighborhood home. It's being dubbed the SOHO of Asunción and very much has a student and bohemian vibe. You'll find plenty of Cafes, bars, and yoga studios in the area. Rents will be lower, but not that much lower. Real estate is surprisingly expensive here. It also borders La Costanera (a riverside beach and coastline where many people hang out and excercise. It's a neat neighborhood and is rising, but is still not fully there.

If you want to save some money on rent and more of a student vibe than this is the place for you.

Mburicuya

This neighborhood has some good restaurant and bar options. It is nice. It wouldn't be my first choice but it feels like a mini Manora minus the parks. It's an upscale neighborhood and I've hung out there a few times. In my opinion for the rent you'd pay you are better off in Manora, Recoleta, or Villa Morra.

El Centro

This is the historic downtown. It hosts the Panteon de los Heroes national memorial as well as the presidential palace and lots of restaurants and nightclubs as well as a mall.

I had lived here for over 6 months and I really tried to love the place. It's walkable, has interesting architecture, national monuments, large parks, a unique and alternative night life, and the Costanera.

It also hosts Lido Bar and Bolsi which are iconic places to eat or grab a drink. It also has the Hotel Excelsior which was an extravagant hotel back in its day and regularly hosted foreign diplomats and heads of state.

The Palma street is a highly walkable street that converts to a pedestrian only street on the weekends. Also the Negroni rooftop bar there has the best views in all of Asunción. You can have a drink overlooking the presidential palace for under $3. You'll also find live performances in the historic municipal theatre (which has a very cool coffee shop next door).

If you like Rock bars and EDM the best underground clubs are in the Centro. Club Condesa is a large EDM nightclub which has more of a large house party feel. The reason being that it's located in an old mansion which was once the home of Silvio Petirossi (A famous Paraguayan-Italian pilot who the airport is named after).

On paper it sounds wonderful, but the whole area is horribly run down. The wealthy have essentially abandoned the old downtown in favor of Villa Morra and its surrounding neighborhoods. As a result you have decaying infrastructure and vagrants all over the place. It really is a tragedy because this once was the best neighborhood in Asunción.

It has lots of charm and unique places, but ultimately it feels abandoned and sketchy. Maybe someday the neighborhood will be revitalized but actions speak louder than words and it appears that won't be the case anytime soon.

The main saving grace of this neighborhood is that you can get incredible value. It is signicantly cheaper than any of the other neighborhoods listed here. You can literally live in the former presidential suite for $450/month.

If you can ignore the beggers and shady people then it could work, but most likely everyone will want to go to Villa Morra and you'll find yourself Ubering there often.