The city oozes historical significance due to its former role as Guatemala’s Spanish colonial era capital. However, a series of strong earthquakes and volcanic eruptions caused major damage to the city in the 18th century, resulting in the capital being moved elsewhere.
Because of the care in which many of the original Spanish colonial structures have been preserved, the entire city of Antigua Guatemala was justifiably designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1979. And UNESCO World Heritage sites are a major tourist draw! Despite its role as a tourist destination, it truly is a proper small city and acts as a hub for businesses, commerce, and transport throughout the area.
We recently happened to have a morning when the weather was extremely cooperative for photography, so we wandered the historic central streets of Antigua Guatemala to capture some of the sights.
Hopefully, we’ll be able to properly convey its visual appeal! Feel free to click on any of the photos to see a high-resolution image.
The Santa Catalina Arch, which connects a convent to a school on opposite sides of the street. Nuns took vows of seclusion, so walking through the arch hallway allowed them to avoid interacting with the populace. Volcan de Agua is in the distance.
Plaza Mayor, directly across from the eastern Antigua Guatemala Cathedral entrance. This place is filled with tourists, vendors, and locals who want to hang out in a beautiful setting.
The Fountain of the Sirens was constructed in 1739 by Diego de Porres.
Or perhaps it should have been called “The Fountain of our Ladies of Perpetual Lactation“.
Unidentified statue at Candelaria Park.
These photos are just a sampling of what Antigua Guatemala has to offer! Future posts will examine some of the sites in greater detail, as well as aspects of the food scene and nightlife.
It is just so easy to spend half a day aimlessly wandering the streets of Antigua Guatemala, exploring new places and finding hidden gems that you never would have known about if you didn’t physically visit that location.
It will be a long time until we run out of things to do here!
Until next time…
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2 thoughts on “Wandering the Streets of Antigua Guatemala”
Love traveling along!
Much appreciated! Glad you enjoyed the post.