Antigua: what to see, where to stay and how to get around

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Antigua — the old one — was Santiago de los Caballeros, from 1543 the capital of the Spanish kingdom of Guatemala, which ruled most of Central America. After the earthquakes of 1773 the capital moved away, and the town was left with its ruined churches among three volcanoes. A World Heritage site since 1979. Guatemala’s UN delegate Jorge García Granados championed the partition plan in 1947 — streets in Israel bear his name — and in 2018 Guatemala moved its embassy to Jerusalem; Antigua is a favourite of Israeli travellers. Half a day on foot; the cobbles are rough.

A short history of Antigua

After a flood and landslide destroyed the previous capital in 1541, the Spanish founded Santiago de los Caballeros in 1543, and for more than two hundred years it was the capital of all Central America. In 1773 the Santa Marta earthquakes destroyed it, and in 1776 the capital was moved to Guatemala City. The old city was partly abandoned and has since been called Antigua, "the old one". Ruined churches and convents still stand among colourful houses, and in 1979 it was declared a World Heritage Site.

The ten best sights in Antigua

1
Arco de Santa Catalina
The yellow arch with Agua behind it
2
Cathedral of San José
A facade with ruins behind it
3
Palacio de los Capitanes Generales
The seat of Central America’s rulers
4
Palacio del Ayuntamiento
The city hall on the square
5
La Merced
A yellow church of white stucco lace
6
Capuchinas
A convent with a round tower of cells
7
Casa Santo Domingo
A hotel and museums in a ruined monastery
8
San Francisco el Grande
The tomb of Central America’s first saint
9
Santa Clara
Convent ruins and a public washing place
10
La Recolección
Great fallen blocks of a church

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What is an audio walk?

Tours in Antigua →

A guide in your headphones: open the walk on our site, walk from stop to stop, and at each one your phone tells its story. No guide, no group, and free. This is the first walk in Antigua:

Free walking tours in Antigua

The old capital

Palacio de los Capitanes Generales · The palace on the main square from which the captains-general governed a territory stretching from Chiapas to Costa Rica, with its long two-storey arcade, rebuilt after each earthquake.
Cathedral of San José · Only the front of the great cathedral is still used as a church; behind it lie the roofless ruins of the nave, destroyed in 1773, with broken domes open to the sky.
Arco de Santa Catalina · A yellow arch built in 1694 so that the cloistered nuns of the convent of Santa Catalina could cross from one building to another without being seen in the street. The clock was added in the nineteenth century, and the Volcán de Agua rises behind it.
La Merced · A yellow church covered in white stucco decoration like lace, built in the 1760s with thick, low walls to withstand earthquakes, and it did. During Holy Week its processions set out over carpets of dyed sawdust and flowers laid in the streets through the night.
Capuchinas · A convent of 1736 whose nuns lived in strict seclusion; its unusual round tower holds a ring of small cells around a central pillar, whose purpose is still argued over.
Casa Santo Domingo · The ruins of the Dominican monastery, once the richest in the city, now a hotel threaded through with small museums of colonial silver, Maya ceramics and crypts found during its restoration.

Ruins, jade and the saint

The southern and western parts of town hold the most dramatic ruins, the tomb of a saint and the workshops of the Maya crafts. Half a day.

San Francisco el Grande · The church holding the tomb of Hermano Pedro, a Franciscan from the Canary Islands who cared for the poor and sick of Antigua in the seventeenth century. In 2002 he became the first saint of Central America, and pilgrims tap on his tomb to be heard.
Santa Clara · The ruined convent of the Poor Clares, and opposite it the Tanque de la Unión, a colonial public washing place under a row of palms where women still wash clothes.
Jade Maya · Jade was the most precious material of the Maya, but its sources were lost after the conquest; in the 1970s an American couple rediscovered the jade deposits of the Motagua valley, and this workshop and museum came out of their find.
La Recolección · The most dramatic ruin in town: a church of the 1710s whose vault collapsed in 1773, leaving enormous blocks of masonry lying where they fell, overgrown with plants.
Antigua Market · The busy local market where Maya women from the highland villages sell vegetables, flowers and huipiles, the woven blouses whose patterns show which village the wearer comes from; beside it the brightly painted chicken buses leave for the villages.
Cerro de la Cruz · A hill north of town with a large stone cross, from which the whole grid of streets lies below the perfect cone of the Volcán de Agua; go with others or with the tourist police, who escort walkers up.

The volcanoes

Three volcanoes surround Antigua — Agua, Fuego and Acatenango — and a fourth, Pacaya, lies to the south-east. Fuego is one of the most active in the world; its 2018 eruption killed hundreds in the villages below. Hike only with a licensed guide and check the volcano alerts.

Ciudad Vieja · The site of the previous capital, destroyed in 1541 when a flood of water and mud burst from the Volcán de Agua. Among the dead was Beatriz de la Cueva, widow of the conquistador Pedro de Alvarado, who had become governor only days before — the first woman to govern in the Americas.
San Juan del Obispo · A village on the slopes of Agua with the palace of Francisco Marroquín, the first bishop of Guatemala, and small family workshops that grind cacao into chocolate by hand.
Volcán de Agua · The perfect cone of about three thousand seven hundred and sixty metres that dominates every view of Antigua, dormant for centuries; its name, water, comes from the flood of 1541.
Acatenango · A climb of about a day to a camp near the summit, almost four thousand metres high, to watch the neighbouring Fuego throw up fountains of lava through the night. Nights are freezing; go with warm clothes.
Volcán de Fuego · Fire, which erupts small bursts of ash and lava every few minutes. On 3 June 2018 a pyroclastic flow swept down its slopes and buried the village of San Miguel Los Lotes; hundreds died or were never found.
Pacaya · An active volcano reached by an easy half-day hike across black lava fields, where guides used to roast marshmallows over the heat of fresh lava cracks.

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Cheap eats in Antigua

Guatemala eats pepián, the national stew of chicken in a sauce of toasted seeds, chillies and tomato; tostadas topped with guacamole or black beans; rellenitos, mashed plantain filled with sweet black beans and chocolate; and tamales colorados on Saturdays. Antigua also roasts some of the best coffee in the world on its volcanic slopes. A tostada costs well under a dollar.

Palacio del Ayuntamiento · Evening stalls on the square
Antigua Market · Comedores of the market
San Juan del Obispo · Hand-ground chocolate

Museums in Antigua

Antigua is a museum of ruins, with collections of jade, silver and colonial art.

Casa Santo Domingo · Museums in a monastery
Jade Maya · Maya jade
Palacio de los Capitanes Generales · Colonial government

Nature and day trips near Antigua

Three volcanoes, one constantly erupting, and coffee farms on their slopes.

Acatenango · The overnight hike
Pacaya · Lava fields
Cerro de la Cruz · The view of Agua

Things to do in Antigua with kids

With children: a hobbit village, an easy volcano and chocolate workshops.

Hobbitenango · The hobbit houses
Pacaya · An easy volcano
San Juan del Obispo · Make chocolate

Holy places in Antigua

A city of ruined convents and the greatest Holy Week processions in the Americas.

La Merced · Holy Week processions
San Francisco el Grande · Hermano Pedro’s tomb
Capuchinas · The convent tower

Nightlife in Antigua

Antigua’s nights are bars in colonial courtyards and rooftops facing the volcanoes; by law many close around one in the morning.

Arco de Santa Catalina · Bars on the arch street
Casa Santo Domingo · Candlelit ruins at night

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Frequently asked questions about Antigua

What is there to see in Antigua?

The top sights in Antigua are Arco de Santa Catalina, Cathedral of San José and Palacio de los Capitanes Generales. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.

How many days do you need in Antigua?

Three to four days are enough to see the best of Antigua without rushing, including at least one walking tour.

Is there a free walking tour in Antigua?

Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Antigua, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: The old capital.

Where to stay in Antigua, and for how much?

sleepntrip shows only rooms in Antigua that meet nine conditions: a good location, high guest scores, cleanliness, and a price of up to $80 a night for two. Pick your dates and see what is free.

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