Visiting Guatemala City in November
July 1, 2022 5:24 PM Subscribe
I’ll be spending a couple of days in Guatemala City over Thanksgiving. I’d appreciate your tips for a place to stay and things to do.
I know most people skip Guatemala City and head straight to Antigua but I also know there are some big city gems! I’ve been looking on Instagram and YouTube but Mefites always have the best recommendations! I like museums, cafes, markets, parks, art, textiles, book shops, and more. I speak Spanish fluently & love chatting with friendly strangers. I am experienced in South America & am familiar with Mexico but this is my first trip to Central America! While I’m not super worried about safety as a solo female traveler, I plan to stay in at night unless there’s a very specific thing to do. Thank you!
I know most people skip Guatemala City and head straight to Antigua but I also know there are some big city gems! I’ve been looking on Instagram and YouTube but Mefites always have the best recommendations! I like museums, cafes, markets, parks, art, textiles, book shops, and more. I speak Spanish fluently & love chatting with friendly strangers. I am experienced in South America & am familiar with Mexico but this is my first trip to Central America! While I’m not super worried about safety as a solo female traveler, I plan to stay in at night unless there’s a very specific thing to do. Thank you!
Best answer: The National Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology (MUNAE) is really spectacular.
posted by nebulawindphone at 6:02 AM on July 2, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by nebulawindphone at 6:02 AM on July 2, 2022 [2 favorites]
Best answer: I really enjoyed visiting the scale relief map of Guatemala when I was in the capitol a few years ago.
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/map-en-relieve-relief-map
posted by kensington314 at 12:14 PM on July 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/map-en-relieve-relief-map
posted by kensington314 at 12:14 PM on July 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I was in Guatemala City last November. The advice from exutima is spot on.
The Archaeology and Ethnology museum (MUNAE) was closed when I was there.....and checking online, may still be. Check ahead before committing to a trip there. However, the market at La Aurora is walking distance from there, if you get stuck in the area (like I did, rattling the front door of the museum and finding out it was closed). This is the market mentioned as being near the airport. That market/artesanía is nice, was fairly quiet on the day I was there. Items vary from typical tourist items up to more expensive handcrafts, depending on what you're looking for.
Museo Popol Vuh is very good; it's smaller, in a university campus setting, you'll probably take a taxi or Uber there. The textile museum in the next building over was also nice, better than I expected.
I did get a sense that some online accounts of danger in Guatemala City may be at least somewhat overblown, as happens to online advice about a lot of locations around the world. Maybe not completely without basis, just a bit exaggerated. Online advice that says Zona 4 or Zona 10 are safer than Zona 18 is probably right, just take it on a relative basis. Your previous experience and street smarts will probably serve you well. (I'm a middle-aged guy who tends to "blend in" in Latin America, my experience might not map exactly to your experience, so there too, adjust accordingly.)
Uber is available and may still be shockingly cheap. Biggest hassle that I ran into--evening rush hour traffic brings terrible, terrible gridlock, you'll want to factor that in if you need to get from A to B just before dinnertime.
In November, the upscale Oakland Mall was spotlessly clean, full of shoppers, and all decked out in Christmas decorations and attractions, if you have extra time to kill and want to spend it off the "tourist track".
posted by gimonca at 6:52 AM on July 3, 2022 [1 favorite]
The Archaeology and Ethnology museum (MUNAE) was closed when I was there.....and checking online, may still be. Check ahead before committing to a trip there. However, the market at La Aurora is walking distance from there, if you get stuck in the area (like I did, rattling the front door of the museum and finding out it was closed). This is the market mentioned as being near the airport. That market/artesanía is nice, was fairly quiet on the day I was there. Items vary from typical tourist items up to more expensive handcrafts, depending on what you're looking for.
Museo Popol Vuh is very good; it's smaller, in a university campus setting, you'll probably take a taxi or Uber there. The textile museum in the next building over was also nice, better than I expected.
I did get a sense that some online accounts of danger in Guatemala City may be at least somewhat overblown, as happens to online advice about a lot of locations around the world. Maybe not completely without basis, just a bit exaggerated. Online advice that says Zona 4 or Zona 10 are safer than Zona 18 is probably right, just take it on a relative basis. Your previous experience and street smarts will probably serve you well. (I'm a middle-aged guy who tends to "blend in" in Latin America, my experience might not map exactly to your experience, so there too, adjust accordingly.)
Uber is available and may still be shockingly cheap. Biggest hassle that I ran into--evening rush hour traffic brings terrible, terrible gridlock, you'll want to factor that in if you need to get from A to B just before dinnertime.
In November, the upscale Oakland Mall was spotlessly clean, full of shoppers, and all decked out in Christmas decorations and attractions, if you have extra time to kill and want to spend it off the "tourist track".
posted by gimonca at 6:52 AM on July 3, 2022 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Oh yeah, a fancy mall in the capital is a fun experience.
posted by nebulawindphone at 9:37 PM on July 4, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by nebulawindphone at 9:37 PM on July 4, 2022 [1 favorite]
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In terms of markets - you need to go to the big one under the central plaza. It’s a warren, with different neighborhoods providing different products and serving different clientele, and you can definitely find blocks of art and handicrafts and souvenirs. The main audience (at least when I was there), however, are Guatemalan consumers and retailers, and the diversity and creativity of goods on offer is stunning. There’s also a food section with a ton of offerings, though be forewarned none of it is targeted at the foreign market.
The other market you should visit is, surprisingly, the one just outside the airport (you probably shouldn’t walk to it because it’s not pedestrian friendly, but it’s right there). This is obviously a bit more oriented towards people looking for things to bring back home, but I found most of it was neither trite and chintzy nor pretentious and overpriced. Instead, it was just a good place to find examples of distinctive and regional artisan products aimed at a more-affluent-than-average consumer.
For museums, Popol Vuh is the one to visit. It’s not an all-day event, but it is worthwhile.
If you’re there on a Sunday you should check out Avenida La Reforma, which is blocked off for pedestrians and turns into a big party - runners, bikers, roller skaters one end, ad hoc yoga classes and puppy adoption sites and a bunch of local booths on the other, and walkers in between.
This really only got going after my time, but I understand Zona 4 really came into its own as a sort of hipster/artsy pedestrian-friendly locale - even apparently got its own brewery (any attempt at craft beer would have been exceedingly welcome during my stint).
You asked about bookstores, so it might be worth checking out the one in plaza fontabella - can’t remember the name. It was cozy and had a nice ambiance and a good selection, but I don’t think really worth seeking out unless you just have a particular urge to browse some books.
I’d still probably stay in the tried and true Zina Viva. You can walk to all of this minus the markets from there, and there’s a wealth of restaurants and cafes and such - I think this is also where most of the better hotels and lodging are centered. I’m not the person to ask about accommodations because I mostly was just in my own place, but I did stay at Hotel Casa Serena for a few nights and it was completely charming, comfortable, homey, and well-located.
My note on safety, like the rest of my advice, may be outdated, but as a youngish woman I regularly walked around these central neighborhoods alone during the day. I’d also walk alone around parts of Zone 1 (where the central market is), though I’d be on a significant level of alert for property crime. I would not walk alone after dark, though I felt okay in a group of sensible and locally-familiar friends.
posted by exutima at 8:08 PM on July 1, 2022 [3 favorites]