ANTIGUA – CIUDAD VIEJA – 17K

We’ll most likely begin our tour on the cobblestone streets of Antigua Guatemala. We’ll see some of the city’s icons, such as the Arch of Santa Catalina, famous for being part of what used to be a convent during the Spanish colonial era. We’ll also see the Church of La Merced, a popular wedding venue. Imagine that if you want to get married here, you’ll need to reserve your spot at least a year in advance. This church’s façade features a combination of local and Spanish-imported products. It’s definitely worth a visit. Next up is the Church of San Francisco, the site of the remains of the Guatemalan saint Hermano Pedro. Other sites of interest include Antigua’s Cathedral, the La Unión Tank, Central Park, and the Iglesia de la Escuela de Cristo.

The first town adjacent to Antigua we’ll visit is San Felipe. To get there, we’ll take a route with few cobblestone streets to give you a break. Next, we’ll reach Jocotenango and then head toward Ciudad Vieja. We’ll pass through the Alameda de Santa Lucía, where we can check out the fruit and vegetable market, the bus station, and the handmade products market, all of which you can visit later if they catch your eye.

We now take the road to Ciudad Vieja. We’ll pass by a vehicle route that connects this town with Antigua, but don’t worry about anything, we’ll follow the path for cyclists and runners, so we can enjoy the scenery in complete tranquillity: the Agua Volcano, the Fuego Volcano, the Acatenango Volcano, the gardens of several coffee farms along the route, and some luxury residential neighbourhoods. When we reach Ciudad Vieja, we can drink some water and slow down a bit.

We begin our return trip through San Pedro Las Huertas, where we’ll find some cobblestone streets. We’ll enter through Calvario Avenue toward the centre of Antigua, where we’ll pass by more places of interest that you can visit later at a more leisurely pace. See you soon.