The Casa de la Independencia is the house where Paraguay's independence was plotted in secret meetings in 1811 before the country broke from Spain on 14–15 May of that year. It is one of the oldest surviving colonial buildings in Asuncion — a simple whitewashed structure with thick walls and a courtyard that gives you a sense of what the city looked like before the 19th-century building boom. The museum inside covers the independence movement and early Paraguayan history with documents, furniture, and personal effects from the period.
Entry is cheap and the visit takes about forty minutes. The house is a short walk from the Pantheon of the Heroes and the Cabildo, making it an easy addition to any circuit of the historic centre. The staff are usually happy to give informal explanations in Spanish, and there are some panels in English.