Things to do in Guatemala City
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El Portal
This atmospheric old drinking den serves fine draft beer and free tapas. Che Guevara was once a patron. Sit at the long wooden bar or one of the wooden tables. Clients are mostly, but not exclusively, men. To find it, enter the Portal del Comercio arcade from 6a Av a few steps south of the Parque Central.
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Café de Imeri
Completely out of step with the majority of Zona 1 eateries, this place offers interesting breakfasts, soups and pastas. The list of sandwiches is impressive and there's a beautiful little courtyard area out back.
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El Establo
This mellow watering hole attracts both foreigners and locals with its pub-style layout, three-sided, brass-topped bar, good pub food and enormous range of music spun by the German owners.
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Restaurante Rey Sol
Good, fresh ingredients and some innovative cooking keep this strictly vegetarian restaurant busy at lunchtimes.
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Blue Town Café Bar
If fellow live music venue La Bodeguita doesn't suit you, check out this nearby youthful spot with live bands.
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Palacio Nacional de la Cultura
The imposing Palacio Nacional de la Cultura lies on the north side of the Parque Central. It was built as a presidential palace between 1936 and 1943 during the dictatorial rule of General Jorge Ubico at enormous cost to the lives of the prisoners who were forced to labor here. It's the third palace to stand on the site.
Despite its tragic background, architecturally the palace is one of the country's most interesting constructions, a mélange of multiple earlier styles from Spanish Renaissance to neoclassical. Today, most government offices have been removed from here and it's open as a museum and for a few ceremonial events. Visits are by guided tour (available in Engli…
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Parque Arqueológico Kaminaljuyú
The Parque Arqueológico Kaminaljuyú, with remnants of one of the first important cities in the Mayan region, is just west of 23a Av and is some 4km west of the city center. At its peak, from about 400 BC to AD 100, ancient Kaminaljuyú had thousands of inhabitants and scores of temples built on earth mounds, and probably dominated much of highland Guatemala.
Large-scale carvings found here were the forerunners of Classic Mayan carving, and Kaminaljuyú had a literate elite before anywhere else in the Mayan world.
The city fell into ruin before being reoccupied around AD 400 by invaders from Teotihuacán in central Mexico, who rebuilt it in Teotihuacán's talud-tablero st…
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Parque Central
The Parque Central, officially the Plaza de la Constitución, is an excellent starting point to begin your journey onto other sights, which are grouped around here. The standard colonial urban-planning scheme required every town in the New World to have a large plaza for military exercises and ceremonies. On the north side of the plaza was usually the palacio de gobierno (colonial government headquarters). On another side, preferably the east, would be a church (or cathedral).
On the other sides of the square there could be additional civic buildings or the imposing mansions of wealthy citizens. Guatemala City's Parque Central is a classic example of the plan.The Parque …
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Museo Nacional de Arqueología y Etnología
The Museo Nacional de Arqueología y Etnología has the country's biggest collection of ancient Mayan artifacts, but explanatory information is very sparse. There's a great wealth of monumental stone sculpture, including Classic-period stelae from Tikal, Uaxactún and Piedras Negras, a superb throne from Piedras Negras and animal representations from preclassic Kaminaljuyú.
Also here are rare wooden lintels from temples at Tikal and El Zotz, and a room of beautiful jade necklaces and masks. Don't miss the large-scale model of Tikal. The ethnology section has displays on the languages, costumes, dances, masks and homes of Guatemala's indigenous peoples.
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Museo Miraflores
Museo Miraflores is an excellent, modern museum inauspiciously jammed between two shopping malls a few kilometers out of town. Downstairs focuses on objects found at Kaminaljuyú, with fascinating trade route maps showing the site's importance.
Upstairs there are displays on textiles and indigenous clothing, separated by region, from around the country. Signs are in Spanish and (mostly) English. Out back is a pleasant grassy area with paths and seating - a good place to take a breather. To get there, catch any bus from the center going to Tikal Futura and get off there. The museum is 250m down the road between it and the Miraflores shopping center.
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Mapa en Relieve
It's worth venturing along to Parque Minerva to see the Mapa en Relieve, a huge open-air map of Guatemala showing the country at a scale of 1:10,000. The vertical scale is exaggerated to 1:2000 to make the volcanoes and mountains appear dramatically higher and steeper than they really are. Constructed in 1905 under the direction of Francisco Vela, the Mapa was fully restored and repainted in 1999. Viewing towers afford a panoramic view.
This is an odd but fun place, and it's curious to observe that Belize is still represented as part of Guatemala. To get there take bus V-21 northbound on 7a Av just north or south of the Parque Central.
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La Bodeguita del Centro
There's a hopping, creative local scene in Guatemala City, and this large, bohemian hangout is one of the best places to connect with it. Posters featuring the likes of Che, Marley, Lennon, Victor Jara, Van Gogh and Pablo Neruda cover the walls from floor to ceiling. There's live music of some kind almost every night from Tuesday to Saturday, usually starting at 21:00, plus occasional poetry readings, films or forums.
Entry is usually free Tuesday to Thursday. Food and drinks are served. Pick up a monthly schedule of events.
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Museo Ixchel
The Museo Ixchel is named for the Mayan goddess of the moon, women, reproduction and, of course, textiles. Photographs and exhibits of indigenous costumes and other crafts show the incredible richness of traditional arts in Guatemala's highland towns. If you enjoy Guatemalan textiles at all, you must visit this museum. It has disabled access, a section for children, a café, a shop and a library, and guided tours are available in English or Spanish.
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Railway Museum
The Railway Museum is one of the city's more intriguing museums (and the only one with a Domino's Pizza attached). Documented here are the glory days of the troubled Guatemalan rail system, along with some quirky artifacts, like hand-drawn diagrams of derailments and a kitchen set up with items used in dining cars. You can go climbing around the passenger carriages, but not the locomotives. It's between 9a and 10a Avs.
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Catedral Metropolitana
The Catedral Metropolitana, facing Parque Central, was constructed between 1782 and 1815 (the towers were finished in 1867). It has survived earthquake and fire well, though the quake of 1917 did substantial damage and the one in 1976 did even more. Its heavy proportions and sparse ornamentation don't make for a particularly beautiful building, but it does have a certain stateliness, and the altars are worth a look.
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Museo Popol Vuh
Museo Popol Vuh has well-displayed pre-Hispanic figurines, incense burners and burial urns, plus carved wooden masks and traditional textiles, fill several rooms. Other rooms hold colonial paintings and gilded wood and silver artifacts. A faithful copy of the Dresden Codex, one of the precious 'painted books' of the Maya, is among the most interesting pieces, and there's a colorful display of animals in Mayan art.
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Las Cien Puertas
This superhip (but not studiously so) little watering hole is a gathering place for all manner of local creative types (and a few travelers) who may be debating politics, strumming a guitar or refining the graffiti when you show up. Tasty snacks such as tacos and quesadillas are served. It's in a shabby colonial arcade that's said to have a hundred doors (hence the name) and is sometimes closed off for live bands.
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Mercado Central
Until the quake of 1976, Mercado Central, behind the cathedral, was where locals shopped for food and other necessities. Reconstructed after the earthquake, it now deals in colorful Guatemalan handicrafts such as textiles, carved wood, metalwork, pottery, leather goods and basketry, and is a pretty good place to shop for these kinds of things, with reasonable prices.
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Casa MIMA
The Casa MIMA is a wonderfully presented museum and cultural center set in a house dating from the late 1800s. The owners of the house were collectors with eclectic tastes ranging from French neo-Rococo, Chinese, and art deco to indigenous artifacts. The place is set up like a functioning house, filled with curios and furniture spanning the centuries.
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Bar-Restaurante Europa
The Europa is a comfortable, relaxed, 11-table restaurant, bar and gathering place for locals and foreigners alike (the bar stays open till midnight). A sign on the door says 'English spoken, but not understood.' It has international cable TV and good-value food - try chicken cordon bleu for dinner, or eggs, hash browns, bacon and toast for breakfast.
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Genetic
One of the few local gay venues, this used to be called Pandora's Box, and has been hosting Guatemala's gay crowd since the '70s, although it gets a mixed crowd and is one of the best places in town to go for trance/dance music. It has two dance floors, a rooftop patio and a relaxed atmosphere with a mainly under-30 crowd.
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San Martín & Company
Cool and clean, with ceiling fans inside and a small terrace outside, this Zona Viva café and bakery is great at any time of day. For breakfast try a scrumptious omelet and croissant (the former arrives inside the latter). Later there are tempting and original sandwiches, soups and salads. The entrance is on 2a Av.
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Del Paseo
This spacious, artsy, Mediterranean-style bistro is one of Cuatro Grados Norte's most popular spots. Relaxed jazz plays in the background unless there's a live band (try Thursdays from 21:00). You might select roast chicken breast with tropical fruits and grated coconut - or spinach-and-ricotta filo pastry parcels?
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Central American Journey
24 days (Guatemala City)
An exciting traverse of Central America from Guatemala to Panama.
Not LP reviewed
from USD$4,460 -
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Museo de los Niños
Almost opposite the entrance to La Aurora Zoo is the Museo de los Niños, a hands-on affair that is a sure success if you have kids to keep happy. The fun ranges from a giant jigsaw-map of Guatemala to a Lego room and, most popular of all, a room of original and entertaining ball games.
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