Antigua Tour

Your tour will start at 8:30 a.m. You will be driven in a private air-conditioned van to the
beautiful city of Antigua. Founded by Spanish conquistadors in 1543, Antigua retains many
historic edifices that qualify it as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Antigua is of the oldest and
best-preserved Latin American cities. Church ruins and immaculate New Baroque-style
Spanish architecture characterize this popular Guatemalan attraction. Antigua Guatemala was
originally referred to as Santiago de los Caballeros de Guatemala and for over 200 years it
served as the military governor's seat of the Spanish colony of Guatemala. Antigua lost its
capital status in 1776, mainly due to a series of 1773 earthquakes that laid much of the town in
ruins. In the safer nearby Valley of the Shrine, Guatemala City rose to become the area's new
capital, and Antigua would change its name to La Antigua Guatemala, meaning "The Old
Guatemala". Today, Antigua travel retains a flare for the historic, and quite often upon arriving,
visitors get the sense that they have stepped back in history. However, this sleepy colonial
town of some 45,000 current inhabitants offers modern travel amenities among attractions that
suit an array of travel tastes. Antigua is internationally known for its unique architecture and
culture. When you are here you can visit the beautiful churches. Dating from the mid-1500"s,
the Cathedral of Santiago, the Church and Convent de Nuestra Señora de la Merced and the
Church and Convent of Santo Domingo represent some of downtown Antigua's most historic
city center icons. The city center's Proyecto Cultural El Sitio, found at 5a Calle Poniente, offers
arts and cultural exhibitions from theater events to music and dance events. You'll find
colonial-era artifacts, including portraits and statues at the Museum of Santiago (at City Hall)
and you can round out your cultural adventure at the Museum of Colonial Art. Surrounded by
City Hall, the Captain's Palace and the Metropolitan Cathedral, downtown Antigua's Central
Park, or Plaza Mayor, is among the finest plazas in all the country. You also can enjoy tours of
a coffee plantation, or a macadamia nut Plantation, or visit Maya villages and learn about
Maya civilization. For the adventurous there is zip lining, horseback and mule riding, mountain
biking and volcano climbing. The vistas in Antigua are simply amazing because La Antigua,
as the locals call it, is surrounded by beautiful and grand volcanoes such as the Fire volcano,
Acatenango and the water volcano. Before returning to your hotel at 4:30 p.m. You will enjoy
looking and shopping in colorful handy craft markets. You will also enjoy visiting a jade factory
and see how beautiful jade jewelry is handmade. In the jade factory is a museum with the most
beautiful jade works of art and jade jewelry. Guatemala is home to more than 23 different
colors of jade, more than anywhere else in the world.