A baroque church iced like a wedding cake, and the roofless convents and churches the 1773 earthquakes left behind.
La Merced is Antigua's showpiece church: a yellow-and-white façade covered in white stucco lacework, built thick and low to survive earthquakes, and still in use.
Beside it, the ruined cloister holds a huge fountain, said to be the largest in Central America, with views from the upper level to the volcanoes.
Elsewhere in town, the 1773 earthquakes left dozens of churches and convents as roofless shells, now gardens of fallen stone. The Capuchinas convent has an unusual round tower of nuns' cells; Santa Clara has a beautiful arcaded cloister; and San Francisco holds the tomb of Santo Hermano Pedro, Central America's first saint.
Behind the rebuilt cathedral façade on Parque Central, the old cathedral's nave lies open to the sky, with its own crypts beneath.
North to south across the grid.
Start in front of La Merced in the morning sun, then step inside the church.
Visit the cloister ruins and climb to the upper level for the volcano view.
Walk a few blocks east to the Capuchinas convent and explore its cells and gardens.
Head south to the ruins of Santa Clara and its arcaded courtyard.
End at San Francisco, with its ruins, museum and the saint's tomb.
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Everything is within walking distance in the centre; the route above is about 2 km.
Ruins charge small fees, usually in cash; working churches are free.
Photographs from Wikimedia Commons and Pexels under their licences.
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