Antigua

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Introducing Antigua

In all the long, boring discussions about where the ‘real Guatemala’ is, you can be sure the word Antigua has never come up. This is fantasyland – what the country would look like if the Scandinavians came in and took over for a couple of years. It’s a place where power lines run underground, building codes are adhered to, rubbish is collected, traffic diverted and stray dogs ‘disappear’ mysteriously in the middle of the night.

But you’d be a fool to miss it. Antigua’s setting is gorgeous, nestled between three volcanoes: Agua (3766m), Fuego (3763m) and Acatenango (3976m), and its streetscapes – with sprays of bougainvillea bursting from crumbling ruins, and pastel facades under terracotta roofs – offer photo opportunities at every turn. The language school scene is thriving, the hostels offer colonial-chic accommodations and the dining is some of the best in the country.

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Antigua cityscape from Cerro de la Cruz.
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Antigua cityscape from Cerro de la Cruz.

Lonely Planet photographer
  • Diego Lezama
  • Lonely Planet photographer
  • Woman preparing fried banana at shop in Santa Maria de Jes
  • Little local children entertain themselves in Antigua.
  • Guatemalan women in traditional clothing watching a festival play, Sant Maria de Jesus in Antigua.
  • Destroyed by a final earthquake in 1773 is Iglesia y Convento de Nuestra Senora de La Merced or simply La Mercad also said to have the largest fountain in Central America, Antigua
  • Most towns in Guatemala have an archway which you enter through to the city centre - Arco de Santa Catarina, Antigua
  • Most of Antigua's buildings were built between the 17th and 18th centuries when the city was a rich Spanish colonial capital
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