Guatemala City Review

Overall 3.00 of 5 (by 1 user)

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mrkstvns
Austin, TX

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Just Passin' Through Guatemala's Bustling Capital City

adventurous, off the beaten path, flying solo, in the city, interested in cultural experiences, livin' la vida loca

Pros

easy access via Aurora Airport, generally low prices, Aurora Park, good restaurants

Cons

crime issues, pollution, minimal tourism infrastructure

JUN

2008

Guatemala City, like many Central American cities, is often viewed by travelers as a necessary evil: you pass through it, you don't stay there for long. Certainly there are more beautiful and tranquil corners of Guatemala than its bustling big capital city, but that doesn't mean there aren't interesting places to see and fun things to do. I don't mind Guatemala City. It's so big and so bustling that I can find anything I want, including eclectic restaurants at every price level, affordable small family hotels and big overpriced corporate hotels, and plenty of places that reflect Guatemala's cultural heritage and history.

In the Downtown area, you find plenty of big office highrises, and the area --- locally referred to as "Zona 4" --- is also where you find the government centers clustered.

Probably the most charming part of central Guatemala City is the traditional heart of the city, near Parque Central. The old Palacio Nacional is a dignified stone building dating only from the 1930s, though it has the patina and grace of a much older structure. Today, The Palacio Nacional houses exhibits about Guatemala's colorful history. Probably the most spectacular thing to see here is the Catedral. Built in the late 18th century, when Guatemala City was young and budding, the church, with its twin blue domes and towers, has the kind of extravagant detail that makes colonial era Spanish churches such a joy to experience. The interior of the Guatemala City Cathedral is something of a letdown, since the ostentatious showmanship of the exterior seems to stop at the threshold of the front door.

If its spectacular church interiors that you seek out, stroll down Avenida 6 a few blocks and you'll come to the Iglesia de San Francisco. Now THIS is a church that pulls out the stops when it comes to interior decor!! I love it's open atmosphere, its graceful arches and columns, and its bright feeling of purity and light. The brilliant colors of wall paintings and the beautiful frescoes on the church's domes have more of a European --- maybe Italian --- feeling to them then they do of the darker, sometimes somber and serious feeling that I more often find in Hispanic churches. I know that I sometimes get too enamored of colonial churches, but I really feel that this is one that's special and well worth recommending.

If you head out Avenida 6 for a few more blocks, you eventually come to Parque Aurora, which I think of as kind of the "Central Park" of Guatemala City. It's large, generally green and pleasant, and popular with the locals. It's also more than just a green space since it's a recreational and cultural oasis for the city in much the same way as big urban parks like Central Park or Chapultepec are to their home cities. Aurora Park is home to the city's zoo, plus several fair sized museums. There's the Museo Nacional de Arte Moderno, the Museo Nacional de Historia Natural, and the Museo Nacional de Arquelogia y Etnologia. I didn't have a lot of time for museum going, and I like to take my time when I visit museums, so I confined myself to just exploring the Archaeology and Ethnology museum, since that's also where one of my more intense interests lie.

Guatemala is historically Maya territory, and of course the most famous of these is Tikal --- one of the biggest, most exciting ancient Maya cities. I love the artifacts they've got from some of the bigger sites, though I'm fascinated by the site maps and exhibits on smaller sites, like Iximche, which probably doesn't get much (if any) press outside academic circles. The displays on Mayan textiles are simple spectacular, and they alone make the excursion worthwhile.

Guatemala City is an interesting place to visit, but it's got a reputation for roughness and street crime. It's also a city that's well off the beaten tourist path, despite its girth and immense population (over 3 million inhabitants). There won't be many locals who will speak any English, so it's a place that's really going to be enjoyed only by the traveler who is comfortable with latino customs and who can speak and read Spanish. If that's you, then go for it! I think you'd like Guatemala City. But if you hesitate about any foreign travel destinations, then you might be better off bypassing Guatemala City and going straight to a smaller, more tourist-oriented destination --- like Antigua Guatemala. That's my viewpoint!