Once hailed as the jewel of Central America, Guatemala City has certainly lost its luster. The country's capital, a tangle of streets and alleyways, retains little of its colonial charm. As it's the country's transportation hub, you're likely to end up here, but with few of the country's most popular attractions -- no ancient ruins, flamboyant markets, or spectacular mountains -- there's little reason to linger. To the city's credit, however, it has some decent restaurants and hotels, as well as several excellent museums and a lively nightlife.

Most people visit Guatemala from June to August and from January to April. The busiest time of year is Semana Santa, the week from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday. Hotels in Antigua, Panajachel, and Chichicastenango are booked months ahead for this holiday. The rainy season runs from May to November, with a few dry spells in July and August. A typical day in the rainy season is sunny in the morning, cloudy at midday, and pouring throughout the afternoon and evening. Guatemala's climate depends more on altitude than season. The coasts and El Petén are hot, while the mountains enjoy warm days and cool nights.

Guatemala City is the capital of the country and the largest city in Central America, situated about 4,000 feet above sea level on a broad plateau on the Sierra Madre, 50 miles north of the pacific coast. The climate is mild with little seasonal variation in temperatures, and most of the rainfall between May and October. Most visits to Guatemala begin in the capital of Guatemala City, a vibrant cosmopolitan city of modem buildings blending with magnificent examples of the finest Spanish colonial architecture, and the political, cultural and commercial center of the nation. Guatemala City has more than 25% of the nation's population of eight million inhabitants. It is a center of the light industry that generates more than half of the nation's manufacturing output, producing textiles, clothing, food, furniture and other products. 

A modem international airport provides connections for visitors from throughout the world. Broad avenues extend from the city's hub at Parque Central, the Central Plaza. Here are situated the imposing National Palace and the Cathedral. One of the few buildings to survive the devastating earthquakes of 19171918, the Cathedral (17821815) is an unsurpassed example of Neoclassical architecture of its era. Nearby La Merced an early 19th century church rebuilt after 1918, contains altars and other treasures transported from the former capital at Antigua. Guatemala is a city of culture with many museums, theaters and art galleries and the nation takes special pride in the Cultural Center Miguel Angel Asturias, who won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1967 and for whom the Cultural Center is named after. Modern stores and colorful markets teem with native arts and crafts, and points of interest include numerous parks, the Central Market, Olympic Stadium, University City, the Cerro del Carmen, with a reconstructed hermitage set in a hillside park and the map in relief, and extraordinary engineering feat completed in 1904 , which represents the country in a three dimensional monumental scale. 

Shopping is one of the most popular activities of visitors, and the beautiful array of native arts and crafts are moderately priced although the visitor is well advised to do some bargaining and not pay the first price asked. Particularly popular are the brilliantly colored and uniquely patterned fabrics, ranging from jackets and dresses to belts, blouses and blankets. Many are hand loomed just as they have been for centuries and some designs are unchanged from pre-Hispanic and colonial times. The design woven into the traditional apparel of the Chichicastenango Indian will even relate to the informed his marital status, how many children he has and how many of his sons are married.  

Native food is a unique and varied blending Spanish and European influences with that of the Indians and the spicier African inspired dishes of the Caribbean coast. Figuring prominently in the typical Guatemalan dishes, with their special sauces and seasonings are fish, lobster, shrimp, turkey, chicken, pork, beef, corn, beans, squash, tomatoes, hot chilies, rice, coconut, bananas and other tropical fruits. A wide range of restaurants offer specialties from all over the world. Enjoy a simple but hearty home-cooked meal, or some of the most sophisticated creations of French haute cuisine, whatever suits your taste. All are at very reasonable prices. Night life in Guatemala can be enjoyed in a number of ways. Primarily located in the center of town and in major hotels, entertainment can vary from quiet piano bars to lively discos. In "Zona Viva", you can mingle with both tourists and locals to participate in an entertaining evening. 

There is a high degree of culture and sophistication in Guatemala City. The National Theater, the city's most impressive modern building with its angled, pyramid shape, has a seating capacity for 2,020. The Gallery of the National School of Fine Arts, the National Museum of History and Anthropology, the Museum of Modern Art and the lxchel Museum of Indian Costumes are among a few of the more interesting places to visit. A new wave of artistic style and technique is developing today in Guatemala, a blend of the traditional with the modern. This intriguing combination can be seen in new and original styles of jade and silverjewelry, and in the modern fashionable clothing boutiques and stores throughout the city.