Historic Centre of Antigua Guatemala

Ruins of a church in Antigua Guatemala
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Antigua_guatemala_church_roof.JPG
Author: chensiyuan


Antigua Guatemala is a city in the central highlands of Guatemala. It was founded in the 16th century. Despite being in an earthquake-prone region, in a span of less than three centuries, Antigua Guatemala has acquired a good number of Spanish Mudéjar-influenced Baroque buildings. However many of the buildings in Antigua Guatemala were destroyed by a big earthquake that hit it in 1773.

Today many of the ruins of Antigua Guatemala are well preserved. They are spectacular examples of a medieval city built on a grid pattern inspired by the Italian Renaissance.

Antigua was inscribed as a World Heritage Site during the 3rd session of the World Heritage Committee which met in Cairo and Luxor on 22-26 October, 1979.

Las Capuchinas
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Las_Capuchinas_(3268828977).jpg
Author: Greg Willis

World Heritage Site Inscription Details

Location: N 14 34 W 90 40
Inscription Year: 1979
Type of Site: Cultural
Inscription Criteria: II, III, IV Iglesia y Convento de Nuestra Señora de la Merced in Antigua, Guatemala
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nuestra_Se%C3%B1ora_de_la_Merced_in_Antigua,_Guatemala.jpg
Author: Adam Baker

Visiting Antigua

Antigua Guatemala is located just some 30 km west of Guatemala City. You can go there by public bus (they call it a chicken bus, as the peasants often transport their poultry onboard). Alternatively, you can catch a taxi from the airport straight to Antigua, for Q250.

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Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.

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