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The city is built on a rise overlooking a large bay formed by the Río Paraguay. The centro (downtown) runs south–southeast from the bay for about 10 blocks to Teniente Fariña, and it stretches 17 blocks from Colón in the west to Estados Unidos in the east. Most hotels, restaurants, shops, and offices can be found in this rectangle, easily explored in a day. Except for the irregular shoreline along the river, Asunción's streets follow a standard grid. Downtown streets are narrow and generally have one-way traffic. Two major squares—Plaza de los Héroes and Plaza Uruguaya—provide cool resting places in the shade of jacaranda trees. You'll appreciate these during the unbearably hot October–March months. Addresses are frequently expressed in terms of intersections. If the location is close to an intersection, the address may be expressed as "Alberdi casi Estrella" (Alberdi "almost at" Estrella).
This Spanish colonial building, containing offices for members of Congress, once served as a convent, then a much-needed blood bank during the Chaco War, then a military museum, and then a cultural center. The newer glass congress building, Palacio Legislativo, seems to swallow the historic building.
During the Francia dictatorship, Paraguayans were not permitted to view the exterior of this building, but today you can even tour the interior. Paraguay's constitution was proclaimed on the first floor of the Legislative Palace in 1870. The second floor was added in 1857, destroying the original symmetry of the single-story Jesuit design. Following a long tenure as the Palacio Legislativo (Legislative Palace), the building presently serves as a museum of Paraguayan history. (Paraguay's congress now meets in the gleaming glass building, donated and constructed by the government of Taiwan, across the plaza.)
The elegant horseshoe-shaped Government Palace, with verandas and wide staircases, overlooks the bay and is Asunción's iconic sight. It's only open to the public on most holidays, but tours are offered on Thursdays and Fridays if you arrange a day in advance. Of course, you can admire the outside view with its soft white illumination every night from dusk to dawn.
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