The San Jose Cathedral borders the central park and plaza mayor in Guatemala's historic capital city of Antigua. Due to a series of volcanic eruptions and earthquakes the capital was moved twenty kilometers east to present day Guatemala city. When there are clear skies one can see a number of volcanoes surrounding the city and many of the more adventurous tourists come here to climb their slopes.
Located in the volcanic highlands about 1500 meters above sea level means Antigua has the perfect temperature year round. It's always in the mid teens to high twenties which means perpetual spring. We came here during mid April, just before the rainy season which is no joke, rainfall goes from virtually nothing to a few inches each month.
The Cathedral was first built in the 1500s, back when most of america comprised of wooden huts. Guatemala was colonized by the Spanish so this would be a Catholic church. It has been rebuilt a couple of times as earthquakes kept destroying the construction. There are often religious processions in this city and the central square in front of the church is abuzz with activity.
The best thing about Antigua is walking around and exploring the streets. There is a great food scene here and it's relatively safe. Guatemala city isn't really for tourists so we skipped it and came straight to Antigua. You can connect to all sorts of tourist destinations in central America from here.
While some people come to Antigua on a budget, we stayed in the nicest hotels and went for fine dining every night. The meals were about half to a third of the price in Canada, one's money goes a lot further down here. This was in the Camino Real Hotel, which is a popular wedding destination, our room had two floors and was just over $200 a night, it would have been easily over $1000 in Europe or Canada.
Here's a view of the jacuzzi, the hotel also had a banquet hall and is rated 5 stars. We stayed here for a couple of nights because we couldn't decide where to stay and split our time in Antigua between Camino Real and the nearby Porta Antigua hotel which was equally as gorgeous. Sometimes you just have to treat yourself.
Rooftop patios are common in Antigua as they get one above the hustle and bustle of the street. Most tourists here are from central America and on weekends it gets ridiculously crowded as everyone from the capital heads over to Antigua to celebrate weddings and enjoy the weekend. Traffic is notorious and escaping it is a must. Our favourite place was called Hector's Bistro, we went there twice.
Iglesia de la Merced is one of the other famous churches in the city. There are a few other notable churches, museums and architectural sites in Antigua. One could easily spend a week here taking the odd day trip to the surrounding volcanoes, coffee plantations or just relaxing and taking in the town.
We've now been to all but two countries in central America and Guatemala is our favourite. I'm sure we will be back to Antigua since it is easy to get to and the culture is maravillosa! Thanks for reading.
All photos were taken with an s22 or iPhone 13 pro and are unfiltered
After reading this post - and watching these pictures - I definitely need to listen to Buena Vista Social Club! You gave me those vibes 😁
Never heard of the buena vista social club, what is it?
The capital of the country is the most beautiful place in the same way as the capital of our country is Islamabad and it is also very beautiful and before I did not have so much knowledge to read your post. Later my knowledge has increased a lot and I have learned a lot and this place is also very beautiful.
Antigua isn't the capital of Guatemala and hasn't been for hundreds of years. One day I'd love to go to Pakistan
First of all Antigua looks a nice place second in gonna read the post about the hotels, fancy hotels always charm me and you are right sometimes we must treat ourselves ❤️❤️
Absolutely, thanks for stopping by )
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