Antigua, Guatemala

We visited Antigua last spring as we were leaving Guatemala for the summer and we were anxious to get back there. We just finished another inland trip where we spent almost a week in Antigua and a few days in Guatemala City.

Antigua is among the world's best conserved colonial cities, It makes you feel time might have stopped some 300 years ago.  Antigua was founded in 1543 and for more than 200 years it served as the seat of the military governor of the Spanish colony Guatemala which at that time included almost all of present-day Central America and the southernmost State of Mexico.  On September 29, 1717, an estimated 7.4 magnitude earthquake hit Antigua Guatemala, and destroyed over 3,000 buildings. Much of the city's architecture was ruined. The damage the earthquake did to the city made authorities consider moving the capital to another city.  In 1773, the Santa Maria earthquakes destroyed much of the town, which led to a decision to abandon the city and move the capital to a safer location which is where Guatemala City, the modern capital of Guatemala, now stands. The badly damaged city of Santiago de los Caballeros, the original city, was ordered abandoned, although not everyone left, and was thereafter referred to as la Antigua Guatemala (the Old Guatemala).
Antigua is in the mountains, so the climate is generally very comfortable. The surrounding volcanoes have kept Antigua to just about it's original size which is actually quite small. Antigua is very popular with Spanish language immersion and has around 75 language school generally providing one on one instruction. Antigua is also a popular tourist destination with a large selection of hotels ranging from hostels to luxury, and the same with restaurants from fast food (but incorporated into the existing architecture) to fine dining.  We like it as a great place to relax, with an ample number of places to explore. We will keep returning to Antigua.