Antigua

The City Antigua

Antigua lies 30 km from the current capital and prior to the earthquake of 1773 was the country's capital. Because of its colonial architecture the city was named as "cultural world heritage" in 1979.

Many of these old buildings were destroyed in the earthquake and their rubble remains, but the former power and beauty of the city linger.

Similar to Panajachel, Antigua is one of the main tourist attractions in Guatemala. For this reason it is an atypical city. Despite this, Antigua has much to offer and is worth the trip.

Places of interest include the Parque Central with surrounding buildings, the Museo de Santiago, the Museo del Libro Antiguo, the Museo Colonial, the Casa Popenoe, different monasteries like La Recolección, Las Capuchinas, Nuestra Seņora de la Merced and others (there are many).

City maps are available at the tourist information office of INGUAT at the Parque Central.

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Additional Information

The easiest way to get to Antigua is a bus from the capital. Buses leave from Plaza Bolivar on 18^th Calle, between 4^th and 5^th Av. The bus ride takes about one hour and cost approx. 10 Quetzales.

Because of the large number of tourists, an extensive tourist infrastructure of restaurants, discos and also a lot of hotels are available:

It is not difficult to find a more expensive place to stay, but there are also a lot of cheaper hotels.

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