City Info
Guatemala | Antigua

Antigua Guatemala is a city in the central mountains of Guatemala famous for its well-preserved Spanish New World Baroque architecture as well as a number of spectacular ruined churches. It has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site!

Antigua serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality of the same name. Central Park is the heart of the city. The reconstructed fountain in particular is very beautiful. People enjoy this park from early in the morning to late at night. The whole city is full of historic buildings, monuments, fountains and ruins. This city was founded by the Spanish in the XVII Century, and it follows the traditional design of a Main Plaza surrounded by Government and Catholic Church buildings.
Antigua is the most popular place to learn Spanish in Guatemala and our partner Spanish language school is located in the city. Antigua is a very good base for anyone who wants to explore Guatemala. The city is bustling with language students and you will have no problems finding a bus to anywhere in the country.
Three large volcanoes dominate the horizon around Antigua. The most commanding, to the south of the city, is the Volcán de Agua or "Volcano of Water", some 3766 meters (12 356 feet) high. It is so named because the crater atop it was formerly filled with water. Shortly after the Spanish conquest of Guatemala, the first capital was on a site part-way up this mountain. It was destroyed by a flood and mudslide when an earthquake let loose the water from the crater, and the capital of Guatemala was moved down the valley to the current Antigua. The original site is a village now known as "Ciudad Vieja", ("The Old City").
To the west of the city are a pair of peaks, Acatenango, long inactive, some 3976 meters (13045 feet) high, and the Volcán de Fuego or "Volcano of Fire", some 3763 meters (12346 feet) high. "Fuego" is famous for being almost constantly active at a low level. Smoke issues from its top daily, but larger eruptions are rare.
Guatemala's economy is dominated by the private sector, which generates about 85% of gross domestic product. Agriculture contributes 23% of gross domestic product and accounts for 75% of exports. Most manufacturing is light assembly and food processing, geared to the domestic, United States of America, and Central American markets. Over the past several years, tourism and exports of textiles, apparel, and nontraditional agricultural products such as winter vegetables, fruit, and cut flowers have boomed, while more traditional exports such as sugar, bananas, and coffee continue to represent a large share of the export market.As you can see there are a wide variety of industries in which we could arrange an internship for you in Antigua.