12 Best Things to Do in Antigua Guatemala: A Block-by-Block Guide
Antigua is small. You can walk across the old town in about twenty minutes, which means you can fit more into a single day here than almost anywhere else in Central America. Three volcanoes stand guard over the rooftops. The streets are cobblestone — bring real shoes, not flip-flops. And nearly everything worth doing sits inside a ten-block grid you'll have memorized by lunch on day one.
The city itself is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, frozen in honey-colored Spanish Baroque after the 1773 earthquake convinced the colonial capital to pack up and move to what's now Guatemala City. What got left behind is the good part. Here's where to go.
1. Catch the Arco de Santa Catalina before the crowds
The butter-yellow arch on 5a Avenida is the Antigua photo — the one with Volcán de Agua framed dead center underneath it. By 9am it's shoulder-to-shoulder with tripods. The smart move is to arrive at 6:30am, when the light is soft and the street is empty except for a few vendors setting up. It's free, it takes five minutes, and it sets the tone for everything else. Built in the 1600s so cloistered nuns could cross the street unseen, the arch glows when the sun hits it head-on.
2. Walk up to Cerro de la Cruz for the lay of the land
Do this first, ideally on your first afternoon. It's a 15-minute climb on a paved path to a hilltop cross overlooking the entire grid, with Volcán de Agua filling the horizon behind the city. Tourist police run free escorted walks up from Parque Central (roughly 10am and 3pm) — worth joining, since the trail had a sketchy reputation in years past. Go up, orient yourself, and suddenly the whole town clicks into place.
3. Get lost in the Ruins of La Recolección
Skip the busiest ruins near the center and head west to La Recolección. Entry runs about Q40 (around $5), and you'll often have the place to yourself. The 1773 quake toppled the church's massive vaulted roof, leaving cathedral-sized stone blocks scattered across the nave like a giant dropped them. Moss, sky, and broken arches. It's the most atmospheric ruin in town and one of the few where you can climb among the rubble.
4. See the Maya jade at the Jade Museum and Workshop
Guatemala sits on one of the world's only sources of true jadeite, and the Jade Museum (free entry, on 4a Calle Oriente) walks you through how the Maya carved it with nothing but string and sand. The back room is a working workshop — watch artisans shape raw stone, then browse the shop if you want the real thing. Just know the difference: genuine jadeite is heavy and cold to the touch, and the markets sell a lot of dyed green serpentine to people who don't.
5. Bargain at the Mercado de Artesanías
For textiles, this is your spot — a covered handicraft market near the bus terminal stuffed with huipiles, leather bags, worry dolls, and hand-woven blankets. Prices start high because everyone expects you to haggle. Offer about 60% of the opening ask and meet somewhere in the middle. Cash only, small bills, and don't be shy — it's part of the deal here.
6. Stand in front of La Merced
The canary-yellow church on the north end of 6a Avenida is the most photographed facade in the city, dripping with white plaster filigree like piped frosting. Step inside the attached convent ruins (small fee) to see what was once Central America's largest fountain — shaped like a water lily, 27 meters across. Sundays bring local families and the occasional procession spilling out the front doors.
7. Tour a coffee farm on the volcano slopes
The volcanic soil here grows some of the best beans on earth, and you can trace the whole journey from cherry to cup. Finca Filadelfia, a short tuk-tuk ride from town, runs polished tours (around Q150, roughly $20) through working fields and a roastery. For something more grassroots, the De la Gente cooperative takes you onto small family farms in nearby San Miguel Escobar, where your guide is often the farmer. Either way, you'll never look at a $6 latte back home the same way.
8. Eat your way through Caoba Farms
A ten-minute walk south of the center, Caoba Farms is an organic farm with a farm-to-table restaurant and a Saturday market that locals and expats both swear by. Brunch under the trees, live music, and produce pulled from the ground that morning. Get the eggs and a fresh juice. Saturdays get busy by 11am, so come early or settle in for the long haul.
9. Roast marshmallows on an active volcano (Pacaya)
The overnight Acatenango trek gets all the glory, and rightly so — but if you've only got a spare day, Pacaya delivers a different kind of thrill with a fraction of the effort. It's a 1.5-to-2-hour hike (park fee around Q100, plus a guide), and at the top you'll roast marshmallows over heat vents where lava once flowed. Tour operators on 5a Avenida run half-day round trips from town for about $20–30. Doable before lunch.
10. Wander Casa Santo Domingo
This former convent is now a five-star hotel, museum complex, and one of the prettiest places in Antigua to spend an hour. You don't need to be a guest — walk the candlelit stone corridors, peek at the colonial-era crypts and the small museums (a combined ticket covers them), and grab a coffee in the courtyard. At night the whole place flickers with hundreds of candles. Quietly spectacular.
11. Watch the sunset from a rooftop
Antigua's low skyline means almost any rooftop gives you a clean line to the volcanoes. Antigua Brewing Company has a popular terrace with craft beer and pizza; Cafe Sky on 1a Avenida is the reliable classic with the widest view. Time it for 5:30pm and watch the cones turn pink. A local pour runs about Q35 ($4.50).
12. Take a day trip to Chichicastenango or Lake Atitlán
When you've squeezed the town dry, the highlands open up. The Chichicastenango market — one of the largest indigenous markets in the Americas — runs Thursdays and Sundays, two hours out by shuttle. Or point yourself at Lake Atitlán, a volcanic crater lake ringed by Maya villages, three hours west. Shuttles from any agency on 5a Avenida book up the night before for about Q150 round trip. Give it more time and the overland trail keeps going north — past the jungle temples of Tikal and on toward the cayes and reefs of Belize.
Pro Tips for Antigua
Wear sturdy shoes. Those cobblestones are charming and ankle-twisting in equal measure. Leave the heels at the hotel.
Getting around is easy. Tuk-tuks zip anywhere in town for Q10–15 ($1.50–2). Uber works here too and is often cheaper for longer rides.
Carry small cash. Most markets, tuk-tuks, and street food stalls are cash-only. ATMs cluster around Parque Central — withdraw before the weekend, when some run dry.
Mind the altitude and the sun. You're at 1,500 meters, so the UV is fierce by midday even when it feels mild. Sunscreen, then a layer for the cool evenings.
Avoid Semana Santa unless you're prepared. The Holy Week processions and sawdust carpets are a once-in-a-lifetime spectacle, but hotels triple their rates and book out months ahead. Either commit fully or come a few weeks on either side.
Give Antigua at least three days. One to learn the grid, one for a volcano, and one to slow down — coffee in a courtyard, an hour among the ruins, and a rooftop to watch the light fade off Volcán de Agua. The city rewards the unhurried — and when you're ready to trade cobblestones for sand, the laid-back Caribbean islands of Bocas del Toro make a fitting next stop further down the isthmus.
