Antigua, our essentials in the pearl of Guatemala

A few kilometers from the huge capital Guatemala City, the charm of Antigua immediately seizes.

Its wide cobbled streets, its wooded squares, its fountains, its listed ruins and the colorful facades of its colonial buildings make it a veritable city museum.

Discover the listed monuments

The famous Arco de Santa Catalina, in the heart of the former capital of the kingdom of Guatemala.

In the background the impressive Agua volcano.

stock.adobe

Built in the 16th century and then devastated by an earthquake at the end of the 18th century, Antigua was abandoned for a hundred years before arousing interest for its intact ruins and its remarkable monuments, rebuilt several times over the course of the weather.

From one street to another, the colonial facades, preserved in their raw state, mingle with religious complexes in the Baroque and Spanish Renaissance styles, themselves punctuated by contemporary boutique hotels with grandiose patios.

A veritable open-air museum, the former capital of Guatemala has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979 and is therefore subject to strict rules in the event of renovation and construction.

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Convento de Santa Clara

, H749+2PW, Antigua Guatemala.

Open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Admission: 5€.

https://inguat.gob.gt

Palacio de los capitanes Generale

s, 5a Calle Poniente, Antigua Guatemala.

Open Tuesday to Sunday, free access.

Inside, the Guatemalan Art Museum is also free.

Access to the Santiago Caballeros Museum costs €3.80.

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Catedral de San Jose

, 5a Calle Oriente 5, Antigua Guatemala.

Free access.

Arco de Santa Catalina

, 5a Avenida Norte 28, Antigua Guatemala.

Free access.

The hotel-museum of Casa Santo Domingo

The Santo Domingo hotel and its gardens, a true haven of peace.

Photo press / HotelSantodomingo

To discover the remains of the emblematic convent of Antigua, you must first push the doors of the hotel-museum Casa Santo Domingo.

The establishment was built about thirty years ago around the ruins, its promoters having undertaken to ensure their maintenance and preservation.

The listed spaces and objects – statues, crypts – can be discovered from one garden to another of this unique hotel where there are also several museums telling the story of the place.

Casa Santo Domingo, 3a Calle Oriente 28 A, Antigua Guatemala.

Free visit.

The food market: an effervescent place

Selling vegetables at the food market in Antigua.

Inguat

Despite the ambient hubbub, the dense crowds and the unexpected vehicles circulating as best they could in the aisles, the Antigua food market is perfectly organized: outside, there are products exposed under a crushing sun, cheaper because of lesser quality and affected by ambient conditions (dust, heat).

In the covered part, the food looks better and is also more expensive.

First there are the aisles of vegetables, then those of meat, fresh and dried fish, fruit, plastic containers, electronic objects and finally that of the stands to eat between two purchases.

On the menu:

, a sweet and dense drink made from corn;

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, a kind of thick tortilla stuffed with meat, spread with guacamole then garnished with pork, chicken or vegetables or the

, cornbread with meat first steamed in a banana leaf then grilled on the barbecue , which you swallow on the go on a mini-stool barely away from the crowd.

Part of the Antigua market is even dedicated to the sale of second-hand clothing straight from the United States.

Mercado central Antigua, Poniente 4, Antigua Guatemala.

Open every day.

Climb the surrounding volcanoes

The Fuego volcano, one of three surrounding the city, is the most active in the region.

Inguat

The three imposing volcanoes that surround Antigua (Acantenango, Fuego and Agua) also contribute to the tourist attraction of the city.

If we can content ourselves with the grandiose spectacle that they regularly offer when they erupt, we can also observe the molten lava more closely, especially from the Acatenango volcano (3976 m), where hikes, physically demanding , are organized and supervised by local guides.

At the top, tents set up facing the Fuego volcano (the most active in the region) await visitors who will spend the night watching for the beginning of an explosion on the opposite peak.

The wait is almost always rewarded with a moment of pure magic, erasing the aches.

Other options available on the day: the

• To organize your excursion:

  all the information in the practical notebook at the end of the article

Taste an (excellent) local Arabica

Guatemala is one of the main coffee exporters.

Around Antigua, Arabica plantations abound.

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Fifth largest coffee exporter in the world, Guatemala is one of the main producers in the world, competing with Brazil and Colombia.

Nestled in an environment conducive to the acclimatization of coffee trees, Antigua is surrounded by plantations, mainly Arabica.

The soil, volcanic and rich in minerals, gives the coffee produced in the valley a unique character.

Visiting Antigua is also an opportunity to go to a "finca", these large properties directing the crops, and to taste several local coffees.

Practical notebook

• Coming to Antigua Guatemala

Flight to Guatemala City (direct from Paris).

Antigua is 40 km from Guatemala City.

Provide a private driver service (22 € approx.) or shuttle (12 € approx.) to be reserved in advance with your hotel.

Count between 15 min and 1h30 to reach Antigua from the airport.

More information: https://inguat.gob.gt/

• Travel agency

Terra Guatemala, French-speaking agency specializing in organizing trips to Guatemala.

www.guatemala-voyages.com

• To organize hikes and excursions on the volcanoes

Excursions to Pacaya

, located 25 km southeast of Antigua, during the day: departure at 6 a.m. or 2 p.m., ascent (approximately 1h30) then return to Antigua: approximately €11 per person (transport included) + 6 € entry into a protected area.

Many tourist agencies located in town offer this outing, they all offer the same service and similar prices.

Possibility to book the day before for the next day

Hike on the Volcán Acatenango

over two days: transport from your hotel, breakfast with the locals, ascent (4h30), lunch and dinner included, night in a comfortable tent (sleeping bag and mattress included) facing the Fuego volcano then return to Antigua the next day after breakfast also included: €65 per person.

https://v-hiking.tours/

Ascent of Volcán Agua

 : the hike begins at the village of Santa María de Jesús (€0.50 from the Antigua bus station) on the northeast slopes of the volcano.

It is essential to hire the services of an Inguat certified guide (€25 per day per person + €5 park entrance fee) at the tourist office just next to the Parque Central de Santa María.

Do not attempt to go there without a guide, as many muggings have been reported there.

At the end of March 2022, a new route, safer but also more technical, was inaugurated by the government: this is the “Ruta Extrema Cráter Volcán Agua”.

See with local agencies if they already offer this option.