In short
La Paz is built in a bowl between three thousand six hundred and four thousand metres, with El Alto looking down on it from the plateau. The drop between the two is four hundred metres.
The urban cable-car network, the largest in the world, links the two cities with around ten lines. It is daily transport, not an attraction, and the view comes free with the ticket.
What it really costs
Bolivia is the cheapest country in South America, and La Paz is its most expensive city — which is still very low. Decent housing costs a quarter of a European capital.
Covered markets serve full meals for one to two euros. The food budget looks like nothing else on the continent.
What nobody tells you
The altitude is serious: at three thousand six hundred metres, acute mountain sickness affects a good share of arrivals. Two days without exertion, plenty of water and no alcohol.
El Alto airport is at four thousand one hundred metres. You therefore arrive at the highest point of the trip, which is the opposite of what you would want.
Road blockades — bloqueos — are a common form of political action and can cut access to the city for several days. They are usually announced in advance.