Antigua Walking Tour Morning and Afternoon

The Plaza Mayor is the starting point to visit all of Antigua Guatemala, planned in 1541.

It was in 1541 when, using the square and the compass, the engineer Don Juan Bautista Antonelli carried out the project by arranging the city by line in a reticulated urban organization.

The blocks were distributed from a central square where the main buildings were to be located: town hall, cathedral, shops and others. The measure of the square is 112 meters from north to south and 115 meters from east to west (138 rods from east to west and 134 from north to south).

The angles of the square are composed: To the north, by the portal of Chains and the Palace of the Noble City Hall, to the east by the Episcopal Palace and the Cathedral of Santiago, to the south by the Royal Palace, to the west by the Merchants Portal or Panaderas, in the center is the source of the Sirens, built in 1739 by Diego de Porres.

The square currently has five Esquisúchil trees that were planted around 1994.

The Parish of San José, located in the city of Antigua Guatemala, is part of the Archdiocese of Guatemala and is located in a section of the former Cathedral of Santiago de los Caballeros, which was destroyed by the Earthquakes of Santa Marta. The first building of the cathedral was started in 1545 with the debris brought from the destroyed settlement in the Almolonga valley, which had been a second attempt to found a town in the region. Its complete construction was hindered by frequent earthquakes over the years. On April 7, 1669 the temple was demolished and a second sanctuary would be inaugurated in 1680 under the direction of Juan Pascual and José de Porres, and there is also evidence that the Spanish engineer and imager Martín de Andújar Cantos worked on its reconstruction.

The University of San Carlos de Guatemala (also known and called by its acronym: USAC) is the largest and oldest university in Guatemala, being also the only national in that Central American country. This is the fourth university founded in America. It was established in the Captaincy General of Guatemala during the Spanish colony and remained the only one in Guatemala until 1954.

Royal and Pontifical University of San Carlos Borromeo (1676-1829): Established during the colony by the Spanish Crown in the seventeenth century, approved by the Holy See and directed by the regular orders of the Catholic Church. After the independence of 1821 it was called only Pontifical University.

The Sanctuary of San Francisco el Grande is located in the city of La Antigua Guatemala. The first sanctuary was built in the mid-sixteenth century, but suffered deterioration in the year 1565 due to a strong earthquake. The current church was built in 1702 by Diego de Porres and was destroyed by the earthquakes of 1717, 1751 and 1773.

After being abandoned it was damaged by the earthquakes of 1874 and 1917, until finally, the church was rebuilt during the second half of the twentieth century, after the Guatemalan state allowed regular orders to have ownership in the country again and that s Franciscans will return the complex in 1967. The church is particularly known for housing the tomb of Pedro de San José de Betancur, a missionary in Guatemala and a saint of Spanish origin.

The Concepción Convent, in Antigua Guatemala is a ruined complex and one of the tourist attractions of that colonial city in Guatemala. Located on the banks of the Pensativo River, the famous poet Sister Juana de Maldonado, who is considered one of the most controversial and interesting historical figures of the city of Santiago de los Caballeros de Guatemala - capital of the Kingdom, professed as an urban nun in this convent. of Guatemala— during the first half of the seventeenth century.

The Hotel Casa Santo Domingo is a 5 star hotel and museum in Antigua Guatemala, Guatemala. It is located in the former Convent of Santo Domingo, which was once one of the largest convents in America. The hotel is notorious for preserving the baroque architecture of the colonial era and contains several treasures from that era that are displayed.The hotel was opened in June 1989.

Since its origin, Casa Santo Domingo was the stronghold of one of the most grand convents of America: the one that sheltered the followers of the order of Santo Domingo de Guzmán. Casa Santo Domingo is an important part of the beautiful colonial reliquary, that preserves the treasures from the baroque period of ancestral America. Each corner of the house, each stone, image and piece that compose this unique whole of works becomes a lost page in time, one by one all elements are joined together, forming a beautiful chapter in the grand book of our history. Casa Santo Domingo opened it’s doors in June 1989. It is located 45 kms away from Guatemala city (50 minutes driving) and barely 10 minutes walking distance from central park in Antigua Guatemala.

La Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Carmen era una fastuosa iglesia católica en la ciudad de Santiago de los Caballeros de Guatemala, destruida por los Terremotos de Santa Marta en 1773. A pesar de la destrucción casi total del templo, su fachada quedó en buen estado y ha sido admirada desde entonces como un ejemplo del barroco sísmico guatemalteco.

A esta edificación religiosa, por facilidad, se le llamaba «Iglesia del Carmen», nombre que le siguió cuando las monjas carmelitas se trasladaron a la Ciudad de Guatemala luego de los terremotos de 1773