Guatemala museum tour

Description

You can choose two museums out of a list of more than 10, these tour includes all ground transportation as well as bilingual guided and certified guide. Excellent museums where you can learn about Mayan history, traditional textiles, archaeology and what it feels like to experience an earthquake.

The most important museums are

1. Museum of archeology and ethnology, Monday closed. The museum houses Guatemala’s largest collection of ancient Maya artifacts; its impressive stone sculptures (many of which are from the classic period of Tikal), jade jewelry, traditional masks and large-scale model of Tikal make it well worth a visit … the collection of Mayan textiles and ways of living, still actual are well explained and very useful for your trip afterwards.
2. Museum of Historia Natural Jorge Ibarra, Monday closed. Founded in 1950 by natural scientist Jorge Ibarra, the Natural History Museum (Museo Nacional de Historia Natural) specializes in the collection and preservation of samples of Guatemala’s flora and fauna. The exhibitions include ‘The Origin of the Universe’ and ‘The Origin of Life on Earth’, presenting samples of birds, mammals, butterflies and mineral paleontology. Here visitors can also discover some interesting examples of Guatemalan natural history. The museum has a library with variety of books on ecology for children.
3. Museo Popol Vuh, Sunday closed / Saturday only half day. Located within the Francisco Marroquin University, this sleek, modern museum documents the different stages of Mayan culture and history. Named after the ancient Mayan sacred book, Museo Popol Vuh showcases intricate pre-Hispanic figurines and statues, carved wooden masks, burial urns, traditional textiles and other Mayan artifacts. With an abundance of colonial paintings and gilded wood upon its walls, as well as colorful Mayan paintings of animals, art lovers will be suitably entertained too.
4. Museo Ixchel of indigenous clothing / Sunday closed / Saturday only half day. Here you can learn about Guatemala’s iconic Mayan textiles. Named after the Maya goddess of the moon, the museum’s exhibitions showcase the incredible richness of indigenous dress, folk dances, arts and crafts in Guatemala’s highlands. The museum also has an art gallery downstairs, a children’s section, a café, library and a shop selling textiles made by local weavers.
5. Museum of Modern Art “Carlos Merida “, Monday closed. Surrealist art of Manolo Gallardo and work by Carlos Merida, a collection of modern art of Guatemalans you won’t see anywhere else. Definitely for art lovers. In front of the Museum of archeology and Ethnology by the way.
6. Children’s museum, Monday closed. If you’re travelling with kids, a visit to the children’s museum is a must – and as it’s located directly opposite the city zoo, it’s perfectly situated for a fun day out. This hands-on museum has displays including a giant jigsaw-map of Guatemala, an earthquake simulator and a very popular room of uniquely entertaining ball games.
7. National Palace (National palace of Culture), daily open. Magnificent Presidential Palace. Once the home of the infamous dictator General Jorge Ubico, today this palatial building is a museum Take at least one hour to explore the quirks of the Palacio Nacional; the grand banquet hall, with its ornate stained-glass panels, ironically represents the virtues of good government. Make sure to step onto the presidential balcony, where you can pretend you’re a maniacal dictator surveying your troops.
8. Museo de historia natural de la USAC, Sunday closed / Saturday only half day. The university’s small yet packed Museo de Historia Natural is at the same site as the Universidad de San Carlos’ botanical garden, which is also included in the admission price. The museum has a well-arranged collection of flora and fauna specimens from around the country – it’s packed with gems (one room literally!) and has displays on history, archaeology, fauna, fossils and more.
9. Museo Miraflores, Monday closed. This outstanding museum is sandwiched between two shopping malls a couple of miles from the town center near Centro Comercial Tikal Futura. Downstairs displays objects found at the Mayan site Kaminaljuyú, and upstairs there are textiles and indigenous clothing exhibitions. Outside is a pretty grassy area with paths and benches, a nice place to rest your legs after exploring.
10. Railway museum, Monday closed. This is one of the city’s more intriguing museums, with lots of photos and interesting memorabilia from the train days of old. Documented here are the glory days of the troubled Guatemalan rail system, along with some quirky artifacts, such as hand-drawn diagrams of derailments and a kitchen set up with items used in dining cars. You can climb around in the passenger carriages, but not the locomotives. There’s even a room displaying the administrative office, replete with bored-looking bureaucrat.
11. Museo numismatico de Guatemala, Saturday and Sunday closed. It’s all about money …. https://www.banguat.gob.gt/en_museo/index.htm
12. Museo del ejército de Guatemala, daily, Museo del Ejercito is located at Centro Cultural Miguel Angel Asturias or Miguel Ángel Asturias Cultural Center. It is a very nice museum of weapons, uniforms and vehicles of the army of Guatemala. It is not very well known, but it is very nice. It is located in an old military fort. It has a great exhibition of cannons used by the army. It also has a very nice view of the Banco de Guatemala (Guatemala’s National Bank) the Municipalidad de Guatemala (Guatemalan City Hall) and many more public buildings located at the Centro Civico (or Civic Center). It also has a complete view to Down Guatemala (El Centro Histórico).
13. Casa Mima, Sunday and Tuesday closed . A wonderfully presented museum and cultural center set in a house dating from the late 19th century. The owners of the house were collectors with eclectic tastes ranging from French neo-rococo, Chinese and art deco to indigenous artifacts. The place is set up like a functioning house, filled with curios and furniture spanning the centuries, such as top hats, an Underwood typewriter and a vintage Sunbeam blender.

Most of the entrance fees are for children under the age of eight about 5 USD and for adults about 10 USD per person (maximum)

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