Things to do in Antigua
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Academia de Español Antigueña
A highly recommended school, only hiring experienced teachers. They can arrange volunteer work in hospitals for social workers, lab assistants and child care workers on request. Also supports an educational project in San Antonio Aguas Calientes.
reviewed
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Mesón Panza Verde
This guesthouse restaurant provides divine continental cuisine in an appealing Antiguan atmosphere. If you don't have the budget for a full meal but want to check out the great ambience and gorgeous patio, have a drink or snack at the Panza Verde's Café Terraza.
reviewed
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Restaurante Doña Luisa Xicotencatl
Probably Antigua's best-known restaurant, this is a place to enjoy the colonial patio ambience over breakfast or a light meal. The bakery here sells many kinds of breads, including whole grain. Check out the hot-from-the-oven banana bread daily at around 14:00.
reviewed
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Rainbow Café
Fill up from an eclectic range of all-day breakfasts, curries, stir-fries, Cajun chicken, guacamole and more, and enjoy the relaxed patio atmosphere. The Rainbow has a bookshop and travel agency on the premises.
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Traveler Menu
Not nearly as unimaginative as the name would imply, this little bar-restaurant serves up big portions of food that you may have been craving (chow mein, curry etc) in an intimate candlelit environment.
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Monoloco
An old-time tourist hangout (take that as a recommendation or a warning), this place serves up a good blend of comfort foods and local dishes, as well as ice-cold beers in a relaxed environment.
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La Fonda de la Calle Real
This restaurant with three spacious branches, all in appealing colonial style, has a good, varied menu ranging from generous salads and sandwiches to grilled meats. The specialty caldo real, a hearty chicken soup, makes a good meal. This branch is the most attractive of the three, with several rooms and patios. Other branches are located at 5a Av Norte 5 and 5a Av Norte 12. The 5a Av Norte 12 branch is a little cheaper than the others.
reviewed
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Antigua Market
Antigua Market - chaotic, colorful and always busy - sprawls north of 4a Calle. Morning, when villagers from the Antigua vicinity are actively buying and selling, is the best time to come. On the official market days Mayan women spread their wares over open-air areas north and west of the covered market area. Like many Guatemalan markets, Antigua market is cheek-by-jowl with the bus terminal, adding to the crowds, noise and dirt.
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Ravenscroft Riding Stables
Ravenscroft Riding Stables, 3km south of Antigua on the road to Santa María de Jesús, offers English-style riding, with scenic rides of three, four or five hours in the valleys and hills around Antigua. You need to be fairly fit. Reservations and information are available through the Hotel San Jorge. You can reach the stables on a bus bound for Santa María de Jesús.
reviewed
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Parque Central
This broad and beautiful plaza, easily the loveliest in the country, is the gathering place for Antigüeños and visitors alike - a fine, verdant place to sit or stroll and observe Antigua happening around you, from hawkers and shoe shiners to school kids and groups of tourists. The famous central fountain is a 1936 reconstruction of the original 1738 version.
reviewed
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Café No Sé
Advertising uncomfortable seats, confused staff and battered books, this is a pleasantly downbeat option among all of Antigua's finery. There's a little bit of everything here - breakfast (including one option of a shot of mescal and two boiled eggs), burritos, fried chicken, sandwiches, movies, a tequila bar and live music.
reviewed
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Fernando's Kaffe
Ignore the shopfront-look from the street and head for the back patio. Antigua has no shortage of coffee or cafés, but Fernando's is the sort of place where you could end up hanging out all day, munching your way through the menu of salads and empanadas and sipping some of the best coffee in town.
reviewed
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Reilly's
Guatemala's only Irish bar (so far), Reilly's is sociable and relaxed, with a young international crowd. Sadly, small bottles of Guinness are more than double the cost of local beers! The Sunday evening quiz is one of Antigua's most enjoyable events.
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El Punto
Highly popular El Punto serves probably Antigua's best Italian food in a neat but animated setting of three adjoining rooms and a patio, each with three or four tables - and some particularly interesting posters on Italian and Guatemalan themes.
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La Peña de Sol Latino
With good, cheap and innovative food and free live music nightly, this little indoor-outdoor place is fast becoming one of the hottest bar-restaurants in town. Get there early for a good table.
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La Casserole
This French restaurant with friendly but smooth service is one of Antigua's best. It's great for steak and dessert lovers. There are just a dozen tables in a patio and one side room.
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Restaurante Korea
This little restaurant, plonked in the middle of a hotel courtyard, serves up incredibly tasty, authentic Korean dishes. Wash them down with a Korean beer or some rice wine!
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El Muro
A friendly little neighborhood pub with a good range of beers, some decent snacks and plenty of sofas to lounge out on.
reviewed
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Escuela de Español San José el Viejo
Professional, 30-teacher school with pool, superb gardens, tennis court and its own tasteful accommodations.
reviewed
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Café Condesa
Walk through the Librería Case del Conde on the west side of the Parque Central to this delightful restaurant around the patio of a 16th-century mansion. On the menu are excellent breakfasts, coffee, salads, sandwiches, quiches, cakes and pies. The lavish Sunday buffet is an Antigua institution.
reviewed
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Volcano Ascents
All three volcanoes overlooking Antigua are tempting challenges but how close you can get to Fuego depends on recent levels of activity. In many ways the twin-peaked Acatenango, the highest of the three and overlooking Fuego, is the most exhilarating summit. For an active-volcano experience many people take tours to Pacaya (2552m), 25km southeast of Antigua (a 1½-hour drive).
In general the weather and the views on all the volcanoes are better in the morning. In the rainy season (May to October) thunderstorms are possible in the afternoon. Get reliable advice about safety before you climb, for example from the Inguat tourist office, or from your embassy in Guatemala City…
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Catedral de Santiago
The Catedral de Santiago was begun in 1542, demolished in 1668, rebuilt between 1669 and 1680, repeatedly damaged by earthquakes, wrecked in 1773, and only partly rebuilt between 1780 and 1820. The present cathedral, without its expensive original decoration, occupies only the entrance hall of the 17th-century edifice, and strictly speaking is not a cathedral but the Parroquia (Parish Church) de San José. 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, entered from 5a Calle Oriente. Slightly overhyping itself as 'the most important monument in the country,' it's nonetheless an impressive pl…
reviewed
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Iglesia y Convento de Santo Domingo
Founded in 1542, Iglesia y Convento de Santo Domingo became the biggest and richest monastery in Antigua. Its large church was completed in 1666. Damaged by three 18th-century earthquakes, the buildings were further depleted when pillaged for construction material in the 20th century. The site is currently occupied by the Hotel Casa Santo Domingo. You can visit the hotel's public spaces, which are tastefully dotted with colonial statuary and archaeological pieces, any time.
The archaeological areas (áreas arqueológicas) form part of the paseo de museos (museum walk). It includes the very picturesque ruined monastery church (cleared of a 5m layer of rubble in the 1990s a…
reviewed
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Antigua Tours
Elizabeth Bell, author of books on Antigua, leads three-hour cultural walking tours of the town (in English and/or Spanish) on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday & Saturday. On Monday & Thursday, the tours are led by her colleague Roberto Spillari. Reservations are suggested and can be made through Antigua Tours which is inside the Casa Santo Domingo Hotel.
Bell's book, Antigua Guatemala: The City and Its Heritage, is well worth picking up at a bookstore: it describes all the city's important buildings and museums, and neatly encapsulates Antigua's history and fiestas. Writer Elizabeth Bell also gives a fascinating one-hour English-language slide show about Antigua called Behind …
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Iglesia y Convento de Nuestra Señora de la Merced
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 firecracke…
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