| Page Views: 16,988 Last Visit to Antigua Guatemala: December, 2006 | The Pastel Town with the Collapsed Churches by calcaf38 - last update: Dec 27, 2006 |
| Casa Popenoe - Antigua Guatemala |
I finished my Guatemala trip in Antigua: it was like the gift shop before the exit.
Antigua is the former Santiago de los Caballeros, capital of Guatemala. Its glory days were the 17th and 18th centuries. It was ravaged by several earthquakes, however, causing the government to move the capital to Guatemala City at the end of the 18th century. The half collapsed town, renamed Antigua Guatemala was almost abandoned, then came back to life slowly as an unspoiled time capsule.
Today, Antigua is a charming tourist town, surrounded by fog-shrouded volcanoes. Fancy hotels, restaurants and boutiques abound. There is a McDonald's, and a Burger King, both tastefully tucked behind historical facades. The Western end of town, near the market and the bus terminal is -thankfully- less refined. In that rowdier area, you can admire the famous recycled American school buses in all their finery.
Although the town is built on a grid, it can be confusing because the streets have both numbers and names, but you can't find both sets of information at every intersection. If you use the closest volcano as a landmark today, it may be hidden in the clouds tomorrow.
Antigua Guatemala is organized for tourists. Airport shuttles and transfers to other parts of the country are easy to secure. There are internet cafes on every block. Budget travelers beware: some of the monuments have absurdly high entrance fees, as high as the entrance for the whole Tikal park.
If you are in halfway good shape, you should catch a volcano ascent, which takes a bit more than half a day. This and hours of leisurely strolling will keep you busy in Antigua. |
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| Pros: | "Colors, Architecture, Clouds, Volcanoes" | | Cons: | "A bit Overprocessed" | | In A Nutshell: | "A Guatemala Highlight, but not the Only One" |
calcaf38's Antigua Guatemala Travel Tips
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 Comments for calcaf38 about Antigua Guatemala | | | | |
MalenaN Sat May 2, 2009 20:12 UTC
I visited Antigua 19 years ago and remember I had to buy a new bag at the market for all the souveniers I bought. Great photos and tips Oliver! Unfortuanatly I will not have time to visit Cihuatan when I'm in El Salvador! | toonsarah Thu Jul 24, 2008 13:29 UTC
Wonderful photos of everything from volcanoes to buses - bags of atmosphere and useful info too | zlatiq Mon May 26, 2008 02:06 UTC
another interesting place that i'd like to see. thanx 4 the tips and the great photos:) | ellielou Sat Apr 5, 2008 14:38 UTC
Damn! There are a lot of churches. Since it looks like W Africa is OUT this year, Guatemala seems to be IN. Great pages....(ok, stating the obvious yet again!) |
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