🇧🇴 Bolivia

One of Bolivia's two capital cities, La Paz is a chaotic, culturally vibrant, canyon-bowl city with a cable-car network, strong indigenous culture and a lot of traffic, pollution and altitude to contend with. I ranked it fifth of six Bolivian cities I visited, enjoyable for a few days but not somewhere I'd want to live.

I call Sucre Bolivia's most beautiful city, and possibly the most beautiful capital in South America. It's the constitutional capital of Bolivia (La Paz is the administrative capital), founded in the 16th century as a Spanish hub near the silver riches of Potosí, and later the birthplace of Bolivian independence. Known as the 'White City' for its whitewashed colonial architecture, it's small and relaxing rather than a nightlife hub.

Once one of the wealthiest and largest cities in the world thanks to colonial-era silver mining, Potosí is now a small, cold, high-altitude colonial city with striking architecture but limited food and lodging options. I ranked it fourth of six Bolivian cities, good for two to three days.

Uyuni town itself is, in my words, an unattractive, impoverished jumping-off point with little to offer beyond being the gateway to Bolivia's famous Uyuni Salt Flats. My own tour was cancelled last-minute by a third-party booking, and I ranked Uyuni last of the six Bolivian cities I visited.

Cochabamba is Bolivia's fourth largest city (arguably third if El Alto and La Paz are counted together) and one of the country's most underrated destinations, in my view. Nicknamed the 'City of Eternal Spring' for its consistently mild 20–24°C daytime weather, and the 'food capital of Bolivia' for dishes like silpancho. It's also home to Cristo de la Concordia, a Christ statue even larger than Rio's.

Santa Cruz de la Sierra is Bolivia's largest city by population (just under 1.7 million) and the country's economic engine, with the Santa Cruz department generating over 30% of national GDP. Unlike highland cities such as La Paz and Uyuni, Santa Cruz sits in the lowlands at around 400m above sea level, so altitude sickness isn't a concern. I found the city surprised me, largely thanks to the upmarket Equipetrol neighborhood.