In the lively La Ceja (Eyebrow) district, which commands one of the highest real-estate prices in El Alto for its commercial value, you’ll find a variety of electronic gadgets and mercantile goods. For an excellent market experience, don’t miss the massive Mercado 16 de Julio, which stretches for many blocks along the main thoroughfare and across Plaza 16 de Julio.

This shopaholic’s paradise has absolutely everything, from food and electronics, to vehicles and animals, all at reasonable prices. Heads up: watch your wallet in both senses of the phrase.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby La Paz attractions

1. La Paz Cemetery

0.85 MILES

As in many Latin American cemeteries, bodies are first buried in the Western way or are placed in a crypt. Then, within 10 years, they are disinterred and…

2. Mercado Negro

1.5 MILES

Tight travelers can grab a bargain at the Mercado Negro, a clogged maze of makeshift stalls that sprawls over several blocks to the west of Isaac Tamayo…

3. Museo de la Coca

1.65 MILES

Chew on some facts inside the small, slightly tired Coca Museum, which explores the sacred leaf’s role in traditional societies, its use by the soft-drink…

4. Mercado de las Brujas

1.66 MILES

The city’s most unusual market lies along Calles Jiménez and Linares between Sagárnaga and Av Mariscal Santa Cruz, amid lively tourist artesanías (stores…

5. Iglesia de San Francisco

1.74 MILES

The hewed stone basilica of San Francisco was founded in 1548 by Fray Francisco de los Ángeles. The original structure collapsed under heavy snowfall…

6. Museo San Francisco

1.74 MILES

The cloisters and garden of the Museo San Francisco, adjacent to the basilica, beautifully revive the history and art of the city’s landmark. There are…

7. Iglesia Indígena de San Pedro

1.75 MILES

Founded in 1549 and finished at the end of the 18th century after the siege of La Paz by Tupac Katari, the ‘Indigenous Church of San Pedro’ has baroque…

8. Museo Tambo Quirquincho

1.76 MILES

This intriguing museum, a former tambo (wayside market and inn), houses 10 rooms of temporary art exhibitions that change monthly. Past exhibitions have…