Arcaded Street Near Antigua Guatemala’s Central Park at Dusk

Antigua Guatemala's colonial street grid, laid out in the 1540s, still runs on the original cobblestones of the Spanish colonial capital. The city served as the seat of Spanish colonial government in Central America until a 1773 earthquake prompted authorities to relocate the capital to present-day Guatemala City. Antigua's historic center was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979, prized for its dense collection of colonial-era buildings and grid plan based on Renaissance urban design. Arcaded buildings like the one along this street date to the era when covered walkways sheltered market stalls and shops from sun and rain.