Potosí

Bolivia: A Local's Guide to a Country You Have to See to Believe · Juan Flores, our Bolivian friend, on the salt flats, La Paz, Sucre, Lake Titicaca and Santa Cruz — with the hotels and tours we'd book.

Where should I stay?

Mercado Central · Centro · Bolivian market food: The main market, with cheap breakfasts of api, pastries and salteñas plus set lunches at the food stalls.
Café La Plata · Plaza 10 de Noviembre · Café: A café on the main square for coffee, cakes and light meals, with views over the plaza.
4060 · Centro · International and Bolivian: A restaurant-bar named for the city's altitude, serving burgers, pizzas and local dishes in a relaxed setting.
El Fogón · Centro · Bolivian grill: A long-running spot for grilled meats and Bolivian classics, a good place to try llama steak.

Casa Nacional de Moneda · Centro: The colonial royal mint, now a large museum on Potosí's silver history, visited on guided tours.
Cerro Rico mine tour · Cerro Rico: A guided visit inside the working cooperative mines of the mountain that funded the Spanish empire; physically demanding and not for the claustrophobic.
Convento de Santa Teresa · Centro: A 17th-century Carmelite convent turned museum, showing religious art and the cloistered life of the nuns.
Convento de San Francisco · Centro: One of the oldest churches in Bolivia, with catacombs and a rooftop view over the city and Cerro Rico.
Torre de la Compañía de Jesús · Centro: An ornate baroque bell tower of a former Jesuit church that you can climb for city views.
Iglesia de San Lorenzo de Carangas · Centro: A church known for its carved mestizo-baroque stone facade mixing Andean and Christian motifs.
Plaza 10 de Noviembre · Centro: The main square, framed by the cathedral and colonial buildings, a good starting point for walking the historic center.
Ojo del Inca · Tarapaya: A round, naturally warm crater lagoon outside the city where visitors swim.