Guatemala City is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Guatemala. It is the economic, governmental and cultural capital of the Republic. It offers visitors all the modern amenities together with historic sites, a wide variety of art galleries, theaters, sports venues and museums.
Guatemala City is subdivided into 22 zones. Zone one is the historic center which lies at the heart of the city. Here visitors will find many important historic buildings including the Palacio Nacional de la Cultura (National Palace of Culture), the Metropolitan Cathedral, the National Congress, the Casa Presidencial (Presidential House), the National Library and Plaza de la Constitución (Constitution Plaza, old Central Park).
There are many interesting museums located in zone 13 including, Museo de Arte Moderno (Art Museum), Museo de los Niños (Children's Museum) and Museo Nacional de Historia Natural (Natural History Museum).
Things to See and Do
* Parque Central and the Cathedral
* Mapa en Relieve – Relief map of Guatemala
* Ixchel Museum of traditional costumes
* Palacio Nacional
* Shopping at the Central Market
General information
Cruise Season – Jan - Dec
Currency - Quetzal (GTQ)
Language – Spanish, English
Population – 942,348 approx
Land Area - 1,905 km2
Electricity – 2 perpendicular flat pins USA style or with a round pin below
Time - GMT minus six hours
International Country Telephone Code – +502
Port Location – Cruise ships dock at Puerto Quetzal, located in Escuintla department, alongside the city of Puerto San José.
Travel Links – Guatemala City has one big airport, La Aurora. There are daily arrivals from the US, México, El Salvador, Honduras (San Pedro Sula, Tegucigalpa), Costa Rica (San José), Nicaragua (Managua), Panamá.
In almost any town in Guatemala you will find a bus that eventually will take you to Guatemala City. The 2nd class extra-urbanos are often crowded and not very comfortable, but cheap.