Guatemala Guide
Guatemala City
The old city
The hub of the old city is Zona 1, which is also the busiest part of town. Zona 1 is the run-down centro histórico, a world of low-slung, crumbling nineteenth-century town houses and faceless concrete blocks, broken pavements and car parks, noise and dirt. Tentative signs of regeneration are emerging, as a committed group of conservationists attempts to preserve the capital's heritage, and clusters of new bars and cafés are opening in historic buildings. But with the area beset by social problems, it's a process that will take decades to achieve. That said, the streets, thick with street vendors, harbour a certain brutal fascination and are undeniably the most exciting part of the capital.