Wondering about things to do in Antigua Guatemala? I’m here to help!
After two beautiful weeks in Guatemala, I can already tell you two things – the first, is that Guatemala became one of my favorite countries I’ve been to, and I can’t wait to go back one day!
Second of all, Antigua was such a magical place, and I enjoyed staying there and exploring this beautiful city!
But enough about me, we are here to help you. Today, I am going to share with you exactly what to do in Antigua Guatemala!
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Things To Do In Antigua Guatemala
1. Walk Around!
My favorite way to explore a new destination, is by walking around the streets, “getting lost” in the city, and finding new and interesting places.
I think walking around a new city is the best way to get to know it – you can smell the scents of the city, hear the language, find some hidden gems of the city, look at the beautiful buildings, and just get a whole idea of where you have arrived.
Antigua is one magical city. I can tell you that. Visiting antigua guatemala was a treat!
And my travel buddie (aka my boyfriend) and I enjoyed just walking around this beautiful city and exploring it!
2. Visit The Cerro de la Cruz
If you love beautiful viewpoints, I highly recommend visiting the Cerro de la Cruz for a breathtaking view of Antigua and the area!
This beautiful viewpoint is only a 15-20 minutes climb to the top by stairs, but you can also take a tuk-tuk/Uber to the top.
From what I know, it shouldn’t cost more than Q15 (=$2).
Even though it’s prettiest to see the view during sunset, unfortunately the park close right at sundown. So what I recommend doing is going there first thing in the morning on a clear day, or visiting before sunset.
3. See The Church Ruins
If you are looking for a little European throwback, I highly recommend visiting the church ruins in Antigua.
There are three famous ruins in the city:
- La Catedral de San Jose – Q25 entry fee
- Iglesia de San Francisco – Q15 entry fee
- Convento Santa Clara – Q40 entry fee
Honestly, I was mostly impressed by the Iglesia de San Francisco ruins, and I also loved the La Catedral de San Jose ruins.
4. Shop For Souvenirs at The Mercado de Artesanías
Random fact about me, I’m a sucker for souvenirs! I just love bringing my travels home! I have a keychains souvenirs collection, a mugs collection, a little random souvenirs collection, a salt and pepper collection – I’m just obsessed.
I love walking around different markets around the world and doing some souvenirs shopping!
Anyways, I highly recommend the Mercado de Artesanías for souvenirs. It’s super touristy, and the owners will try to sell you souvenirs for a high price, but you can always bargain and get a fare price for the souvenirs.
5. Take a Photo at The Famous Antigua Arch
The symbol of Antigua – the famous Antigua arch! I think this is also the most Instagrammable place in Antigua, and I must say this is a pretty arch.
Honestly, there is nothing to do there beyond taking a picture of/with the arch, but it’s pretty and worth a visit since it’s so close to the city center!
6. People-Watch at The Park
My boyfriend and I love to take a little people-watch break at parks around the world. It’s also an interesting way to get to know a new destination by looking at the locals, seeing what they are wearing, how they look like, and what they do.
We really enjoyed sitting and people-watching at the Parque Central in Antigua. But, I must warn you from all of the vendors trying to sell you anything they can possibly think of.
7. Visit The Hobbitenango
The Hobbitenango is a unique attraction that is located up in the mountais above Antigua. We bearly had any phone service there, so it was very fun.
Basically, the Hobbitenango has Hobbit houses (where you can also stay overnight), and a bunch of other activities such as a giant bungee swing, ax-throwing, and also super Instagrammable places to take photos of/with the beautiful views from the mountain.
Honestly, this place is SUPER touristy. But if you like touristy attractions that’s totally good and you’ll have a great time there.
I’m kind of in the middle. I loved the Hobbitenenango, and I mainly loved the photos I took in the famous giant hand photo spot, but in general I felt like there isn’t much to do there, so we ate lunch, took some photos, walked around and left after 2-2.5 hours.
But still, I highly recommend visiting! Tickets are only Q50. We took an Uber to get there, but I know they also have shuttles from Antigua.
8. Hike a Volcano!
Antigua has some beautiful dormant and active Volcanos. The popular ones are the Acatenago volcano and the Pacaya volcano.
If you’re up for an active adventure, I highly recommend hiking the Acatenango which is an overnight hiking adventure.
During this hike you will see breathtaking views of the famous active volcano, which is constantly erupting, the Fuego volcano.
The second volcano is Pacaya, which I really wanted to go to since I saw that you can literarily see the lava and be so close to it, but sadly it hasn’t been active since May (and I was there in November), so there was nothing to see.
The Pacaya hike is a much shorter day hike, where you also get to toast marshmallows over lava and be very close to it.
Both volcanos are around an hour-long drive from Antigua.
9. Test Out Antigua’s Unique Restaurants
If there is something I really enjoyed in Antigua, is the unique restaurants! We ate at so many delicious restaurants such as an Asian restaurant, a great Japanese restaurant, we ate delicious Raman, and also had great nachos and guacamole at the Sky Café.
Stay tuned for a full blog post on the best restaurants in Antigua!
10. Hang Out on a Rooftop!
Antigua also has some awesome rooftops to hang out in! After reading some recommendations, the top three rooftops I saw are:
- Cafe Sky – I had the best nachos at this place. We had dinner, and watched the Fuego erupting every once in a while!
- Bella Vista Coffee – I had a lovely afternoon here. Just hanging out and eating delicious food.
- Antigua Brewing Company – Sadly I didn’t have the time to check out this cool bar, but I heard great recommendations!
And that’s it for today! If you didn’t know what to do in Antigua Guatemala, I hope now you got some ideas! ENJOY!
There you have it, all the best things to do in Antigua Guatemala!