Iglesia y Convento de Nuestra Señora de la Merced

Lonely Planet review

La Merced is Antigua's most striking colonial church and its construction began in 1548. The most recent of its several bouts of rebuilding has taken place since the 1976 earthquake, and the place is in pretty good shape.

Inside the monastery ruins is a fountain 27m in diameter, said to be the largest in Hispanic America. It's in the shape of a water lily (traditionally a symbol of power for Mayan lords), and lily motifs also appear on the church's entrance arch, suggesting the influence of indigenous laborers used to construct La Merced. Go upstairs for a bird's-eye view of the fountain and the town. A candlelit procession, accompanied by much bell ringing and firecrackers, starts and ends here on the last Thursday evening of each month.