Antigua Guatemala 

Welcome from Mr. Victor Hugo del Pozo Coronado

Mayor of  the city of Antigua Guatemala

Dear visitors, I cordially welcome you to the city of Antigua Guatemala, our colonial jewel with more than 480 years of settlement, declared Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 1979.

Every street, every corner, monument and house, holds centuries of history and cultural richness, expressed in its traditions, transmitted from generation to generation.

The inhabitants of Antigua Guatemala, also called "panzas verdes" (green bellies) are kind people, an example of resilience, after surviving the earthquake of 1973. Definitely, all these historical facts give origin to the magic and mysticism that today you can get to know the very noble and very loyal City of Santiago de los Caballeros.

For you to enjoy your visit, the Municipality of Antigua Guatemala has built the safest tourist destination in Guatemala by means of a network of high definition cameras, a monitoring centre, multiple panic buttons and an immediate reaction team.

 Our city is environmentally friendly, promoting the use of bicycles and pedestrian life, which translates into an improvement in the quality of life for residents and visitors.

Enjoy your stay and let the mysticism of Antigua Guatemala remain in your memory.

Victor Hugo del Pozo Coronado

Mayor of the City of  Antigua Guatemala

Antigua Guatemala

Antigua Guatemala, the main icon of the colonial Hispanic heritage, is located in the Panchoy Valley, surrounded by three volcanoes and mountains with coffee plantations. In 1979 it was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and is subject to a special conservation regime. It offers a very rich sample of architecture, colonial monuments, churches, imagery and altarpieces from the colonial period, as well as visits to markets, handicraft workshops, study centres and Spanish schools. It is a setting where cultural and religious traditions come alive, ideal for weddings and special events, with first class facilities for congresses and business meetings.

In the 21st century, it is an important Central American tourist destination, with preserved Spanish Baroque architecture, as well as a large number of Catholic church ruins, even after the damage their structures suffered from neglect between 1776 and 1940312 and the earthquakes of 1874,13 191712 and 1976.

Holy Week in Antigua

Holy Week in Antigua Guatemala is a traditional celebration with processions carried out by the brotherhoods of the city's parishes between Palm Saturday and Easter Sunday. During these days, the religious images take to the streets in procession through the main streets of Antigua Guatemala. This event gathers thousands of national and foreign tourists, who can contemplate first hand the tradition and culture of Antigua.

The Holy Week processions transform the city and have evolved as they are passed down from generation to generation, but what never changes is the essence and devotion of the faithful cargadores, who each year come from all over the country.

The processions in Antigua Guatemala travel through the streets on the shoulders of cargadores, on carpets of colourful sawdust, another component of Holy Week, which is considered ephemeral art because it can be seen for a short period of time before the procession passes over them. The processions are accompanied by orchestras playing funeral marches composed especially for the commemoration.

The period of great processions begins on the First Thursday of Lent and continues with processions as representative as that of San Bartolomé Becerra on the fifth Friday of Lent. From that date until Good Friday, processions take place throughout Lent and especially during Holy Week.

Pilgrim's Route

This is a tourist route commemorating the canonisation of Saint Brother Pedro de San José de Betancourt, which allows a tour of some of the monuments of Antigua Guatemala through the life and work of Brother Pedro.

 The Pilgrim's Route includes visits to the looms of Pedro Armengol, the monument to Brother Pedro and the Arco del Matasanos, the Royal Hospital of Santiago, the Temple of Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes and the monument and convent of the Society of Jesus.

Natural and Cultural Attractions

Among its main attractions are the Agua volcano, museums, colonial monuments and coffee farms. In its gastronomic expression, Antigua Guatemala offers a great variety of typical dishes, with recipes and ingredients of the region and artisan methods, among them we find main dishes and desserts such as: pepián, chuchitos, jocón, chiles rellenos, rellenitos, among others. We cannot forget the typical handmade sweets. Likewise, in the last few years, the world influence has made it possible to offer a diversity of international and trendy dishes.

Safe Destination

The Safe Travels Seal is a set of protocols and regulations designed under the guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO) to establish a general health policy for the tourism industry to re-establish confidence among travellers and provide clear guidelines for the return of tourism activity at a global level.

 The aim is to align the private sector with standards that ensure the safety of its workforce and tourists as each country or region moves to the new normal. Antigua Guatemala and Guatemala joined the list of countries with the Safe Destination seal in 2020.

Antigua Guatemala is waiting for you

Tourists who have visited Antigua Guatemala recognise its charm, the hospitality of its people and the diversity of high quality tourist services. These elements have made Antigua Guatemala the number one city to visit in Central and South America in 2021, according to Travel and Leisure. Likewise, Forbes Central America recognised Antigua Guatemala in 2021 within the most "instagrammable" cities in the world, being the only Latin American destination in the top 30, this recognition was determined after analysing metrics on visitor tags on instagram.

For more information:

www.muniantigua.gob.gt  

https://www.facebook.com/ayuntamientoantigua  

https://www.instagram.com/ayuntamientoantigua