Time difference Paraguay
GMT -4 hours from the first Sunday in October to the last Saturday in March (summer time), GMT -3 hours during winter time the rest of the year. So there is a 4-hour gap with France during the European winter (which corresponds to the Paraguayan summer), 6 hours the rest of the year. In January, when it's 4pm in Paris, it's noon in Asunción. In July, when it's 4pm in Paris, it's 10am in Asunción. But it gets more complicated for a few days in October, when France is still on summer time (end of October) and Paraguay has already switched to summer time (first Sunday in October)... Then there is a five-hour time lag.
Opening hours Paraguay
To see / To do Paraguay
Museums generally open between 7-8 am and 12 noon, and then between 1-14 pm and 5 or 6 pm. They can close an hour later during the Paraguayan summer, but there are no real rules. Many are closed on Sunday and Saturday afternoons. Even when schedules are posted, they are not always respected, and you will often find the door closed. This is often the case in small towns in the interior, which sometimes receive only one or two visits per week! A number is often written on the door, if not ask around, someone will be able to find the person in charge of the museum, who will be happy to come and open the door for you and sometimes offer you a guided tour. As for the churches, they are generally closed outside of masses. The doors open half an hour before the service and it is then possible to visit them at that time. Or during mass, but as quietly as possible. Concerning natural sites (waterfalls, river islands, nature reserves...), they are generally accessible every day. During the week, you will probably be alone on these sites (you may also have to look for the caretaker), while on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, the peaceful atmosphere of the place can be transformed, with the joyful arrival of families, equipped with their barbecues and portable baffles!
Enjoying yourself Paraguay
Restaurant opening hours are very variable, with a wider range in Asunción than in the rest of the country. Many popular restaurants and cafeterias open continuously from 7-8am until around 3-4pm. So we can have breakfast there. Restaurants with a service worthy of the name, open rather between 12h and 14h30, then from 19h or 20h, until 22h or 23h, even midnight on weekends. The Paraguayans eat dinner pretty late, not before 8:00. Establishments usually close on Sunday or Monday. On Sundays in the capital, many restaurants only open for lunch, or offer a buffet-style brunch until around 2pm.
Take a break Paraguay
The cafés are generally open from Monday to Saturday, from 7 am. After-works in bars are popular, especially during the early evening happy hours.
(To) please yourself Paraguay
Shops are generally open from 8-9am to 7pm, with sometimes a lunch break. They close on Sundays and sometimes Saturday afternoons, or on Mondays in the small tourist towns around the capital, which fill up at the weekend. Shopping centres have extended opening hours (9am-9pm) and are open daily.
Get out Paraguay
We usually go out late in Paraguay. Concerts in bars rarely start before midnight (when it doesn't rain, otherwise they are often cancelled) and discos open until the early hours of the weekend. In the capital, the nightlife is very lively, and you can have fun any day of the week, even on Sundays, especially before the 15th or 20th of the month (after that there is often not much money to go out!). The boliches (dance bars, discos) usually close around 1am from Sunday to Wednesday, 3am on Thursday, 5 or 6am on Friday and Saturday.
