| Fast Facts |
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Full Name
Republic of Guatemala
Capital City
Guatemala City
Area
108,890 sq km
42,042 sq miles
Population
13,100,000
Time Zone
GMT/UTC -6 ()
Daylight Saving Start
last Sunday in March
Daylight Saving End
last Sunday in September
Languages
Spanish (official)
Religion
Roman Catholic, Pentecostal, Maya-Catholic fusion
Currency
Quetzal (Q)
Electricity
115V-125V 60HzHz
Electric Plug Details
Japanese-style plug with two parallel flat blades
American-style plug with two parallel flat blades above a circular grounding pin
Country Dialing Code
502
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| Antigua Market |
Chaotic, colorful and always crammed with browsers, buyers and sellers, Antigua's market is a real gathering place. Morning, when villagers from the area are busily trading, is the best time to come. On official market days (Monday, Thursday and Saturday), Mayan women spread their wares over open-air patches north and west of the covered market area. |
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| Casa Popenoe |
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The beautiful Casa Popenoe was built in 1636 by Don Luis de las Infantas Mendoza. After the 1773 earthquake, the house stood desolate until it was bought in 1929 by scientist William Popenoe and his wife Dorothy. Their painstaking, authentic restoration yields a fascinating glimpse into how a royal official would have lived in 17th-century Antigua. |
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| Catedral de Santiago |
Begun in 1542, this cathedral has suffered through a litany of natural and human disasters. The present structure occupies only the entrance hall of a 17th-century edifice. It's most striking at night when it is tastefully lit. More interesting by day are the remains of the main part of the cathedral with massive columns, tall arches and underground crypts.
Conquistador Pedro de Alvarado, his wife Beatriz de la Cueva, their daughter Leonora de Alvarado, Guatemala's first bishop Francisco Marroquín, and the conquistador (and historian of the Spanish conquest) Bernal Díaz del Castillo were all buried beneath the main altar, though their bones went astray at some stage in history. Behind the main altar, steps lead down to a former crypt now serving as a chapel, with a smoke-blackened Christ. |
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| Iglesia y Convento de Nuestra Señora de la Merced |
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Antigua's most striking colonial church, La Merced was started in 1548 but has been rebuilt several times. Inside the monastery ruins is a fountain 27m (86.6ft) in diameter, said to be the largest in Hispanic America. It's in the shape of a water lily (traditionally a Mayan symbol of power). Head upstairs for a bird's eye view of the fountain and the town. |
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| Iglesia y Convento de Santo Domingo |
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Santo Domingo was founded in 1542 and became the biggest and richest monastery in Antigua. Damaged by earthquakes, the site is now occupied by the Hotel Casa Santo Domingo. The fascinating archaeological areas include the ruined monastery church, adjacent cloister and crypts, and museums dedicated to colonial and contemporary art, archaeology and handicrafts. |
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| Monumento a Landívar |
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Commemorating 18th-century Jesuit priest and poet Rafael Landívar, this monument is a structure of five colonial-style arches set in a pristine little park. Landívar lived and wrote in Antigua for some time, and his poetry is regarded as the best of the colonial period. Landívar's ruined house is behind the monument. |
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| Museo de Arte Colonial |
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The San Carlos University, now in Guatemala City, was founded in Antigua in 1676; what used to be its main building (built in 1763) now houses the Museo de Arte Colonial, with some expressive sculptures of saints and paintings by leading Mexican artists of the colonial era, such as Miguel Cabrera and Juan de Correa. |
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| Museo de Santiago |
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In the former town jail - within the present City Hall - Museo de Santiago displays the mermaid statues that once graced the fountain in Parque Central, along with a room full of creepy portraits whose eyes follow you everywhere. Also on display are colonial-era cannons, weapons, pottery and artifacts. |
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| Parque Central |
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This broad and beautiful plaza - easily the loveliest in the country - is the central gathering place for Antigüeños and visitors alike. Surrounded by important buildings including the Captain's Palace, City Hall and cathedral, it's a fine, verdant place to sit or stroll. The famous central fountain is a 1936 reconstruction of the original 1738 version. |
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Reservation: reservation@lmho.net 
