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3 Stars - 18 Opinions
9a. Calle Oriente No. 19, esquina de la Calle de Los Pasos, a 200 mts. de la Iglesia San Francisco,
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of people enjoy staying here
18 Opinions
Entrance to the park
Volcán de Fuego
Iglesia de San Francisco
Ruins, Catedral de Santiago
Hi. I will be in Antigua on business in May and will have a free weekend. I want to visit the market in Chichicastenango on Sunday, but I also see references to a great market in Solola on Fridays, but not a lot of information. If anyone has been there and could provide some background info, and whether this market is worth the trip, I would greatly appreciate it. I assume one can take a shuttle from Antigua and back. Many thanks for any replies.
Jerry
I've went to the Solola market twice last year while staying in San Pedro...just down the mountain from Solola. In comparison to the Chichi market, the Solola market is small. It is mainly visited by the locals, and therefore does not have much in the way of souvenirs/collectibles. Mainly food, clothes, household items, live animals. But if you want to people watch....it's perfect. The traditional dress is great because it's everywhere....the best in the region in my opinion. You could probably spend the whole morning just people watching in the plaza by the churches. I got some great pictures there last year.
You will probably be the only non-local there. That being said, I felt perfectly safe...even as a woman traveling alone. Just keep an eye on your belongings because the market does get very crowded and the close proximity would be a good opportunity for a pickpocket.
Personally I like the Solola market. It was close and easy to get to for me. I only spent about an hour there each time. I don't know how long it will take you to get there from Antigua, but you might want to do some other things that day while you're in the area. Maybe stop off in Panajachel or hop over to Santiago.
Oh and if you go, go early. Like most markets in that part of the Americas, it starts to wind down after lunch.
Good luck.
Loutaoyang,
thank you very much for your reply, it was exactly the advice I was looking for. I'm not too much interested in shopping at the market, but rather in the colors, sounds, and cultural experience, like you described. Many thanks also for your tips. I'm really looking forward to going.
Best regards, Jerry
For a nice walk and look at buildings, wander round the streets behind the cathdral on the main square.
This is where the nobility had their houses and although you can't go in many of them (some are shops which you can) you can still see the doorways and decorative details. Really lovely buildings!!
Table cloths, napkins, bags, blankets....there are ample beautifully made (hopefully hand made) items to buy all over guatemala.
in antigua you will be offered lots of stuff. the markets are a great place to buy, and panajachel near lake atitlan is a GREAT place to find unique gifts for friends back home.
it is expected that you will negotiate...and if you spend a few days in one locale, you can actually negotiate with the same person for DAYS. i have a very nice table clothe a woman made for me personally and we haggled for 2 weeks. in the end, you feel stupid denying someone a few bucks who needs it more....so i cave...or just add on to the price. but feel free to negotiate!
This is the Church and Monastery of San Francisco. The order of the Franciscans in Guatemala dates back to 1525. In 1540 they had a simple monastery with five monks in Cuidad Vieja. In the new capital the monastery grew in number to eighty monks. By the end of the 1600’s, grounds owned by the Franciscans were very extensive. Apart from the usual areas of the main monastery, there was also a hospital and clinic, and above all, its facilities for scholars.
The library was one of the most complete of its time; it had a productive publishing house, the second one to be established in the city; and the order founded the San Buenaventura School for theological and philosophical studies.
Destroyed in 1773, most of the ruins of this huge monastery still remain, and even some part covered with modeled stucco and traces of painted murals have been conserved. Its fountain is found today in the courtyard of La Merced in Antigua. Apart from a chapel restored in the early 1800’s to shelter the remains of Pedro de Betancur, the church of San Francisco was not really restored, but rather reconstructed. This aroused much controversy and vigorous criticism from historians and architects who want to see colonial monuments conserved in their original form.
The church was built by Diego de Porres and inaugurated in 1702. Its facade, with twisted salomonic columns, is typical of the Spanish-American baroque; it has sixteen vaulted niches, each one containing a saint or a friar. The altarpieces inside the church were richly decorated with painting and sculptures of famous contemporary artist. Two of these are still found in San Francisco; the others have come from elsewhere. San Francisco is one of the most visited churches if the county became it enshrine the remains of Hermano Pedro de Betancur, Guatemala’s cherished saint who was beatified in 1980. Thousand of pilgrims come every year begging for favors and miracles.
Constructed to be earthquake proof, it survived the great earthquake of Santa Marta six years later. The monastery, on the other hand, was completely ruin, in spite of its solid walls. In the 1800’s, its rubble was utilized to build the church in San Felipe de Jesus.
The beautiful altars that decorated the temple of La Merced before 1773, as well as the organ, are found today at La Merced Church of Guatemala City.
One of the quaint and endearing sights in Antigua is the lives of people who live there. So often we get wrapped up in the tourist life, taking small glimpses of the world as we pass through. But on the outskirts you can sometimes find a connection. There are several small pools in Antigua where local people do laundry. It reminds me of my laundry sessions while traveling and backpacking; it was one of those small connections. The pools are beautiful, often framed by gardens, archways, and of course the massive volcanoes that have ringed around Antigua since it was established. But it makes the case for exploring outside of the town center.
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