My flight out of Guatemala City was supposed to leave at 7 AM, so instead of leaving Antigua Guatemala at 3 AM, I opted to spend my last night in Guatemala in the city. Guatemala City can be slightly dangerous so I needed to pick a safe zone and somewhere near the airport. Zone 10 is known to be good and is close to the airport. I found a great deal on the Real Intercontinental, which is right in Zone 10.

I am slightly biased as I love an Intercontinental hotel. Of course, you never know. The Real Intercontinental Guatemala City did not disappoint. The lobby is huge and grand. There was no waiting to get checked in and even though I was two hours early for check-in, I was able to check-in and get to my room.

The Room

My room was located at the end of the hallway, which I appreciate as it meant I was not near the elevators. Sometimes elevators are loud, but mostly I prefer not to be near them as people getting off of them tend to be loud. Although, I would say this hotel was extremely quiet. I only heard one door open the entire time I was there.

Since I had gotten a deal, I was not expecting anything large. The room was small but very well laid out with a large floor to ceiling window. And no one should complain about this bed. Not only was it huge, but it was also very comfortable. Usually, I don’t sleep well when I know I have to be up early to catch a flight but I fell right asleep and didn’t wake up until my alarm went off.

After not having watched live tv for a month, I really appreciated the large television with international news in English. They were about the only channels in English though. There was a large desk that made me wish I had stayed another night so I could work at it. Even though the room was small there was a comfy chair to sit in for reading with an overhead light.

The bathroom was also small but had all the things you could want or not want, including a scale. I had desperately wanted to take a bath but the tub didn’t look super clean so didn’t take a bath. I am not sure if it was dirty or just old but decided not to take my chances. This was not a huge deal to me since I could still take a shower and I was only there one night.

The Amenities

The Real Intercontinental has a rooftop pool and I wanted to use it but it started to rain when I went up there. However, it looked great! There is a kiddie pool and a hot tub as well. On a clear day, you could probably see very far. There were plenty of lounge chairs to sunbathe in.

Also on the rooftop area is the fitness center. I didn’t use it but it looked amazing. It was glass enclosed so you can see the pool and the view. The fitness center had free weights and plenty of cardio machines. Best of all it was open 24 hours a day, so you can exercise when you want.

There is also a Spa onsite, which I didn’t get to use. You can also have some services in your room, which is always a nice option.

The Food

There were several dining options in the Real Intercontinental. I was only able to experience dinner though. My choice was to eat at The Market. You could customize each dish, which is why I choose it. My choice was carbonara with artichoke hearts, which was pretty good considering I was in Guatemala. The wine selection was decent and the wine was good. The service was great but I was there early in the evening and it wasn’t busy so I am not sure what it is like when it is busy. The Market is where they serve breakfast but I chose to wait till the airport since the price for breakfast was about $20.

If I have to spend the night in Guatemala City again, I would definitely choose the Real Intercontinental again if the price was right. I felt safe and the room was comfortable. My only advice would be to go across the street to the convenience store for bottled water so you don’t pay $2.50 for a bottle of water.

Book at the Real Intercontinental at Booking.com.

From traditional Guatemalan food to fine dining, the food scene in Antigua Guatemala is outstanding. There are so many places to eat in Antigua; you will never run out of new places to try. Here are my recommendations for where to eat in Antigua Guatemala.

Union Cafe

The food here is delicious and healthy! If you are a vegetarian or a vegan, Union Cafe needs to be your first stop in Antigua. I ate here several times during my stay. My favorites where the Chapin, which is the traditional Guatemala breakfast but served slightly different, and my other favorite was the vegetable quesadillas. Breakfast is served all day too! Breakfast comes with two coffees as well. If you want something besides, the coffee I recommend the Mint Lemonade with Chia Seeds or one of their outstanding smoothies. Both will leave you feeling refreshed. There are two locations for Union Cafe, and they are just down the street from each other. I recommend the one that is across the street from San Pedro church as it is bigger and has a lovely partially outdoor eating area.

Cafe Condesa

This cafe is right in the main square of Antigua. One of my friends who is from Guatemala recommended this place to me. They serve breakfast and have great sandwiches and quiches. On the weekend, they serve a buffet brunch. The coffee here is excellent, and so is the food. You can sit inside near the front door and do some people watching or sit in one of the open air patios inside. Do some shopping in their lovely shops located inside the restaurant. Cafe Condesa has been open since 1993 and definitely know what it is doing!

Samsara

This is another excellent choice for vegetarians and vegans. This is an Indian inspired cafe. I am not vegetarian or vegan but do enjoy the food, so when some girls from my hostel wanted to grab dinner here, I happily when along. It is very small inside so you may have to wait if it is full, but do wait! You won’t regret it. The menu is quite extensive, and I really had a hard time deciding what to get. We were brought out a sample of some soup. We asked what it was and they said it was vegetable soup from whatever they had left in the kitchen that day. It was so good, I almost canceled my order and asked for the soup. I had ordered the Sweet Potato Quesadilla, which was amazing and covered in cheese. For the vegans, they did ask if I wanted vegan cheese instead. Samsara also has a small amount of packaged food for purchase in the front.

Bella Vista Coffee

A friend of mine who lives in Antigua posted about this place on Instagram, and I knew I wanted to check it out. When you walk in, you may think you are in the wrong place as it looks like a wine shop and not much of a coffee shop. Walk past the wine, or don’t, and find the stairs. Upstairs is where you find the cafe area of Bella Vista Coffee and where you find out why it has this name. The balcony area offers excellent views of the Agua Volcano. The balcony area is covered, so you don’t have to worry about getting hot. Try the chicken and avocado sandwich! It is tasty and huge, leaving you full for the rest of the day. Bella Vista also serves breakfast. If you need a quick coffee fix, you can get coffee downstairs at the coffee bar to take away.

Caoba Farms

Not only was the food great here, but Caoba Farms place has a beautiful atmosphere. It almost felt like I had been invited to a party. The farm is located a bit outside of Antigua, but they offer a shuttle that will take you to the farm and back to Antigua. I walked there and took the shuttle back. In addition to the restaurant, there is an organic grocery store, and on some days, there is a farmer’s market. I happened to go on the weekend so I got to see the farmers market, and there was live music. The falafel I had was delicious, and the homemade hummus was excellent. However, the pineapple smoothie was the best thing I had. It was tasty and filling!

Rincon Tipico

Another person in my hostel recommended this to me for an inexpensive place to eat lunch. She was not wrong! Rincon Tipico serves only lunch, and they make their food fresh, including the tortillas being made by hand in the entrance. For 30 Queztals you can choose your meat, and the meal comes with potatoes, coleslaw, tortillas, and a drink. 30 Queztals is about $4 US. The meat is cooked over a fire slowly. However, the potatoes are the star in my book. They were cooked in butter and garlic and melted in my mouth. I did not care for the horchata drink, but that is my personal preference. There was so much food; I took one of the tortillas home with me.

Bistrot Cinq

I had walked by this restaurant several times but initially I wasn’t interested as French food is not usually my thing. However, I was doing some research on where I should eat, and someone mentioned Bistrot Cinq. In their review, it mentioned gourmet macaroni and cheese. I was sold! After I finished my meal there, I declared it the best mac and cheese I had ever had. I looked at the menu again to see why. Their mac and cheese are made with truffle oil! That was it. Not only did they have the best mac and cheese but an excellent wine selection and a beautiful interior. Bistrot Cinq is fine dining, so this was the most expensive meal I had in Antigua but I still only spent about $26 including entree, wine, water, and tip!

La Cocina Del Obispo

Technically this gem of a restaurant is not in Antigua but in a village about two miles from Antigua, and I was lucky enough to be taken by a local, the housekeeper of my Airbnb. However, it had the best Guatemalan food I had while I was there. You can get there by taking a chicken bus to San Juan del Obispo, which is about $.50 each way! Get off the bus at the entrance to the village. Right after you walk into town, there is a house on the right, and it is La Cocina Del Obispo. They are only open on weekends for breakfast and lunch. My recommendation is the Chile Rellenos. You should also know that the menu was only in Spanish, so get your translation book ready. To get back to Antigua you can catch the bus outside the entrance to the village or walk up the hill towards the big church and the bus leaves from there also. The driver may not speak English, but you can tell him Antigua, and he will make sure you get out where you need to.

Roots

Good food comes to those who wait! Roots prides itself on making everything fresh when you order it so if they are busy, you may have to wait a bit for your food. However, the food is totally worth waiting for. I ordered the Santa Fe Chicken Bowl. I didn’t expect the chicken to be the star of the dish, though. The chicken was so flavorful! Plus it came with about half an avocado! You can’t go wrong there. They also have some delicious looking smoothies.

Las Antorchas

Las Antorchas is primarily a steak restaurant, but I am not a big meat eater. However, I really wanted to eat there because the inside looks so pretty. I went during the week and fairly early in the evening, so there were not many other people there, so I had some fantastic service. I order the stuffed chicken with mushroom sauce. It came with rice and vegetables. The chicken was so good I ate everything else first so I could finish with the chicken. Later I was told this is a place that big tourist groups come so it may not be a good idea to go here if you want a quiet dinner.

Apetito

Here is another recommendation from another traveler I tried. She raved about the courtyard and the wine they had. I had wanted a pizza because sometimes you just do! I did have to wait a while as I ate there during Semana Santa and they were swamped. They did tell me in advance, so I wasn’t bothered by it. Apetito offers many different kinds of pizza and has several crust options. The pizza is cooked in a wood-burning oven giving it extra flavor. They also had a fantastic wine list. Eat outside to enjoy the magnificent courtyard. There is no picture of the pizza because it was too dark.

Yzote Kape

This tiny food bar is located in the same courtyard as Apetito. They serve traditional pupusa. A pupusa is like a tortilla stuffed with ingredients. You can get plain cheese ones as well. You can get two pupusas here with a drink for 25 Queztals. Locals eat the pupusa with pickled cabbage and salsa. They are a filling inexpensive eat!

La Bruja

La Bruja is also in the same courtyard as Apetito and Yzote Kape. It serves vegetarian and vegan food. I was eating lunch with a vegetarian friend, so we want to try somewhere new. La Bruja has a huge menu, and you can build your own vegetarian/vegan burger! I went with the eggplant empanadas, and she had a vegan burger. Both were amazing! The burger was huge and came with fries. La Bruja service was also outstanding, and the prices were reasonable.

I hope this list of where to eat in Antigua Guatemala helps you give you a start to finding excellent food there. Have you been to Antigua and recommend a place I haven’t included on this list? Share with us in the comments!

Someone told me while I was in Antigua that there are 37 churches in Antigua Guatemala! Now I didn’t go around counting, and I didn’t visit each one. What else they don’t tell you but is pretty easy to figure out is that many or most of these churches are not operating churches and are ruins from the earthquakes that happened in the 1700s. The many earthquakes forced the government to move the capital from Antigua to what is now Guatemala City. The result is that the entire town of Antigua Guatemala is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

I could have spent another week visiting the churches in Antigua Guatemala, but I ran out of time. However, I saw plenty of them. Here is my list of the churches or ruins you should see on a trip to Antigua Guatemala.

Santa Clara Church and Convent

This was my favorite ruin of all the churches in Antigua. It is so beautiful inside, and I think it is one of the most underrated things to do in Antigua Guatemala. The ruins have been restored without losing their ruin like appearance, but best of all they have created a beautiful garden inside. The flowers are amazing, and there are two working fountains inside. It was also clear that they were doing some work to make portions of it more stable and to make more areas accessible to the public. Of the few other people inside, most were relaxing enjoying the weather.

The convent was started when nuns came from Mexico to Antigua in 1699, but it took about 16 years to build the convent and church. Not long after it was destroyed by an earthquake in 1717. Over many years the convent and church were rebuilt and reopened around 1734. It was all destroyed again in 1773 along with many of the other buildings in Antigua.

The entrance fee is 40 Quetzals, which is about $5.20. The hours are Monday through Saturday from 9 to 5. Be aware they may be closed for special events.

Iglesia de La Merced

This church is one of the larger churches in Antigua Guatemala. It has a wonderful Baroque exterior that is painted yellow. This church was not damaged in the earthquakes in the 1700s, but when the capital was moved from Antigua Guatemala to Guatemala City, it was forced to close. Many of the statues inside the church were relocated. During Semana Santa, La Merced puts on many processions and make some of the largest carpets in the city. Another great feature is the street market that happens on the grounds of the church almost daily. Although on the weekends, the number of vendors and people swell and you can hardly get in to buy food. It makes for great people watching. If you want to enter, make sure your shoulders and knees are covered. The church is not always open so go inside when you see the main doors are opened.

Hospital de San Pedro

San Pedro is another beautiful yellow church. I recommend going to see it at night as it is all lit up beautifully. Not only is San Pedro a church, but it is also a hospital for the poor. It also serves as a home for the elderly and mentally ill. The entrance for the church and the hospital are right next to each other. San Pedro is also huge and takes up a whole city block. San Pedro was not destroyed during the earthquakes. Some of the other entrances to the hospital portion are gated allowing you to see inside to the beautiful courtyard. One night I was walking by San Pedro, and there was a fantastic service going on with music and kids dancing outside. San Pedro also participates in many of the Semana Santa celebrations, especially on Easter Sunday.

Iglesia El Carmen

El Carmen was one of the first church ruins I came across during my time in Antigua. You cannot go inside the church, but the facade is made up of beautifully ornate carved columns. The church was rebuilt many times during the many earthquakes. The first church was built in 1651 and destroyed in the same year. Next, the church was rebuilt in 1686 and heavily damaged in the earthquake of 1717. It was never rebuilt after this. You can see photos from the early 20th century, and the church looks better than it does today, but the domes fell during the 1976 earthquake. Outside the church and in the building next door is an excellent handicraft market.

Iglesia and Convent de las Capuchinas

Construction on this convent began in 1731 and was blessed in 1736. It was the last convent to be built in Antigua Guatemala. Much like the others, it was heavily damaged by the 1773 earthquake and subsequently abandoned. You can see that much of the convent has been restored since the earthquake. This convent was busy with people working in offices and about the building, but it was unclear what the offices’ function was. On the second floor was a small museum covering the history of the convent and the history of Antigua. Much of the convent isn’t open to the public, but it was nice to see a space being used for something and being well cared for.

Antigua Guatemala Cathedral

You can’t miss this the main church in Antigua as it is located right in the main square. While this is an active church, there are ruins behind the main building. Here you can see how large the cathedral used to be. The original church was 1561 and then demolished in 1669. I couldn’t find any information on why the original church was demolished. By 1680 another cathedral had been built in its place.  As you can imagine, this new building did not make it through the 1773 earthquake, and only the facade remained intact. In the 180os, the building was again a church with a parish, but the local government lacked enough funds to restore the entire church. So behind the main facade around the corner, you can enter the ruins and see how large the cathedral once was. You can also go into the lower levels here. There is a rumor around town that all the churches in Antigua are connected by tunnels, but no evidence has ever been found to support it. The entrance fee here is also 40 Queztals.

Escuela de Cristo

Escuela de Cristo is not a ruin! It is also not as ornate as many of the churches in Antigua. However, it is a fully functional church and always seemed to have activities going on inside. The church participates heavily in Semana Santa activities, and if you go right before their procession starts on Good Friday, you can see the floats and andas lined up inside the church waiting to get started. Escuela de Cristo also contains a convent, but it is not open to the public. You may be able to sneak a peek inside if the door is open. This usually happens in the afternoon.

One day I walked by here and noticed preparations for a big wedding happening. Later I walked by, and the wedding had started after about an hour, I walked back by on my way to my Airbnb, and the wedding was still going on! Something to look for is the German Shepard that hangs out above the entrance to the convent. He/she is up there many days and usually has on a purple bandana!

Iglesia de San Francisco

Not too far from Escuela de Cristo is Iglesia de San Francisco. This large church compound also takes up a full city block in Antigua Guatemala. Outside the church is a parking lot so be careful when entering through the gate. Also outside is a market. During Semana Santa, the parking lot and the market were packed with people and vendors. It is a great place to pick up some souvenirs or presents.

Iglesia de San Francisco was damaged in the 1773 earthquake and was not restored until 1967. Much of the convent area is still in ruins, and you can pay to go inside to see them. The facade of the church is stunning, and my recommendation would be to go as the sun is setting as it casts a beautiful glow around San Francisco.

La Recolección Convent

One of the largest ruins is La Recoleccion Convent. It is located on the outside of town right near the local market. The complex was started in 1701 and was finished in 1707. The buildings were greatly affected by the 1717 earthquake, but the buildings were repaired. By 1740 there were 35 friars living at La Recolección Monastery. Like many of the other churches, it was destroyed in 1773 although some of this destruction was from the 1751 earthquake. Over the years following, the complex was used for many other things leading to more destruction. Now the complex is protected. It also costs 40 Queztals to enter.

This is only a small fraction of the churches to see in Antigua Guatemala, and if you wanted to, you could spend weeks seeking out each one. I am sure they each have something unusual to offer. I only wish I had discovered some of them sooner so I could visit them more than once.

Have you been to Antigua Guatemala? What was your favorite church or ruin?