Combo Tour: Colonial Antigua & Guatemala City Explorer Tour

You will be picked up at your hotel in Guatemala City before transferring to Antigua Guatemala to meet your local guide and begin your soft walking of approximately 3 hours. Below is a brief summary of the attractions you will see on your way:


La Merced Church of Guatemalan Ultrabaroque style. This temple has two bell towers and on the facade of the church in its upper part is a sculpture of San Pedro Nolasco, founder of the Mercedarian Order.Santa Catalina Arch. Built to connect the nuns between cloisters to avoid being seen due to the votes that the religious order took. After the earthquakes of 1773, the arch became important due to the alterations that were made. These alterations included the construction of a turret and the inclusion of a Lamy Amp Lacroix clock of French origin.Central Park. Situated in the traditional grid pattern used frequently in urban planning in the Spanish colonies. The park is surrounded by the Palace of the General Captains, the Town Hall, the Cathedral of San Jose, and the Trade Portal. Here in the park, you will also find the Las Sirenas fountain. This fountain has a traditional folk story where the Count of La Gomera ordered the fountain to be built in memory of his daughters, who in giving birth did not want to breastfeed their children. The count then ordered his daughters to be tied to a trunk in the center of a waterhole, where they died of thirst and hunger.
You will continue your tour with a visit the La Unión tank, which is one of the most iconic laundries in this city (only the big houses possessed laundry facilities). For this reason, most of the inhabitants (housewives) went to public laundries. This was inaugurated on February 3, 1853. You will then be given time for lunch (not included). 

You will then transfer to Guatemala City to start your sightseeing tour through this city. First you will visit Las Americas avenue. The road in its central garden has several Plazas and monuments in honor of the countries of the American continent. 

Continue to Berlin Plaza where there are three pieces of concrete brought from Germany. These are original sections of the Berlin Wall and from here, you can view part of the city and the landscape of the volcanoes. 

Next you will visit La Reforma. It was built inspired by the avenues of France and for this reason, various statues carved in stone, bronze, and marble were brought from Italy.

The next attraction is Yurrita Church. This is a private chapel of mixed Baroque style, with Romanesque and Byzantine elements. The church was built as a votive offering by Felipe Yurrita, a native of Arevalo, Castilla, Spain, to the Virgin of Our Lady of Sorrows, patron of that town, for favors received (in particular, for saving her life during the eruption of the volcano Santa Maria).

At the Civic Center of the City, you will see a set of buildings constructed between the 50s and 60s: The Supreme Court of Justice, the Ministry of Public Finance, City Hall, the Social Security, the Bank of Guatemala, the National Mortgage Bank, and the Guatemalan Tourism Commission. 

You will then arrive at the Major Plaza of the Constitution. This Plaza is the heart of the Historic Center of the city. It is surrounded by important monuments such as the National, the Metropolitan Cathedral, the Portal of Commerce and Centenarian Park. The tour includes a visit to the Central Market, which is located behind the Metropolitan Cathedral, in the basement of the Tabernacle Plaza. There, visitors can buy a variety of art and handicrafts from all over the country; ceramics, textiles, leather, wood, and silver.

At the end of the walking tour, head back to your hotel in Guatemala City.