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North America / Guatemala

Antigua Guatemala.

Places to go. A little room to wander.

A local view near Antigua Guatemala, Guatemala
A local view near Antigua Guatemala, Guatemala. Photograph by Juan Francisco · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Resized proportionally to at most 1200 pixels wide without upscaling or a height limit; original ICC retained; EXIF orientation applied; converted to WebP high-quality photographic compression.

THE SHORTLIST

A few places worth your time.

01Culture · DAY 1 IDEA

5ª Calle Oriente

Catedral de Antigua Guatemala

The second church to occupy this site and one of the largest in Central America during its heyday, the Catedral de Antigua Guatemala was built in 1680 to replace its antecessor that dated to 1541. While most of the building was leveled during the earthquake of 1773, the ornate Baroque facade emerged relatively unscathed. While a partial reconstruction beginning in the 19th century has allowed the building to once again be home to a functioning church, other portions of the complex remain in ruins.

Allow about 90 minutes · planning estimate

Map Source
02Culture · DAY 1 IDEA

2ª Avenida Sur

Convento de Santa Clara

One of the largest complexes of colonial ruins in Antigua, the Convento de Santa Clara was built in 1715 as the home of an order of Franciscan nuns founded some years earlier by a group of six sisters from Mexico. Today this ruin is most notable for its facade, which largely survived the earthquake of 1773 that devastated the complex; it's one of the most ornate in all of Antigua, replete with intricate statuary and ornamentation in molded stucco.

Allow about 90 minutes · planning estimate

Map Source
03Culture · DAY 1 IDEA

2ª Calle Oriente

Convento de las Capuchinas

Formally known as the Convento e Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Zaragoza (Convent and Church of Our Lady of the Pillar of Zaragoza), this partially reconstructed building (which is also home to the offices of the National Council for the Protection of Antigua Guatemala) was, from 1736 to the devastating earthquake of 1773, home to a community of cloistered nuns.

Allow about 90 minutes · planning estimate

Map Source
04Culture · DAY 2 IDEA

7ª Calle Oriente

Iglesia de San Francisco el Grande

This grand old church is one of the most visited of Antigua's ruins, thanks to its status as final resting place of Hermano Pedro de San José Betancurt: a 17th-century monk who is the first Catholic saint to hail from Guatemala, and was renowned as the "St. Francis of Assisi of the Americas" due to his ascetic lifestyle, charitable generosity, and aid to marginalized groups within colonial Guatemalan society. A multi-domed structure in the Spanish Baroque style, San Francisco el Grande is a classic example of colonial-era architecture.

Allow about 90 minutes · planning estimate

Map Source
05Culture · DAY 2 IDEA

1ª Calle Poniente

Colegio de San Jerónimo

The useful lifespan of the Colegio de San Jerónimo was short indeed: the sixteen years between its completion in 1757 and the earthquake of 1773 that destroyed it saw the building used first as a secondary school staffed by the Friars of La Merced, then as a royal customs house. Today, though it's quite a bit further afield from the other colonial ruins, San Jerónimo is popular with visitors for the beautifully landscaped gardens in its courtyard, centered on a lovely fountain and playing host frequently to dance performances, festivals, and other cultural events.

Allow about 90 minutes · planning estimate

Map Source

A note before you go. Start with Catedral de Antigua Guatemala, then decide whether Convento de Santa Clara deserves a separate visit rather than rushing both. The suggested days are an editable grouping, not a timed tour. Visit allowances exclude transfers, meals and queues; confirm the exact entrance and current visiting arrangements for Colegio de San Jerónimo before setting off.

Reference material retrieved 2026-10-19. Suggested days and time allowances are editorial starting points. Check the linked visitor information for opening hours, access, and reservations.

BEFORE YOU SET OFF

A more practical kind of plan.

Getting your bearings

Antigua is very compact and easy to walk around, with a layout that follows the typical Spanish colonial design of a main plaza surrounded by governmental and Catholic church buildings. Most of the sites of interest to visitors are contained in an 8x8 block area less than a kilometer across, which you can walk across in 15 minutes. Standard tourist maps are linear in their drawings and thus are accurate only near the town center.

Build a route that makes sense

Catedral de Antigua Guatemala and Convento de Santa Clara are about 0.3 km apart in a straight line. Use the route link to compare the actual streets or transport connections before putting both in the same morning; the measurement is not a walking distance or a transfer estimate.

A LITTLE STRUCTURE. ROOM FOR DISCOVERY.

Your Antigua Guatemala plan.

Add a few stops, choose your days, and leave space between them.

My saved trips
Location, map & reference details

Find your bearings.

Country
Guatemala
Area
Sacatepéquez
Time zone
America/Guatemala
Coordinates
14.5564, -90.7332

Geographic reference: GeoNames, CC BY 4.0.

Antigua Guatemala

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Visitor information & sources

Reference credits & reuse

This city guide includes selected, abridged material by Wikivoyage contributors, adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. The adapted guide text is available under the same license; photographs and website design retain their separate terms. Selected and abridged reference descriptions; operational prices and timetables omitted. Elsewhere added the shortlist, geographic grouping and planning notes.

Reference material retrieved 2026-10-19. It is community-edited background, not firsthand reporting or a live opening-hours service.

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