Guatemala City Culture Venues (Self Guided), Guatemala City

Situated inside the former railway station, Guatemala City Railway Museum is an exciting museum with numerous thrilling exhibitions. The museum provides a lot of information about Guatemala railway history and about each exhibit it displays. Here visitors can see displays of locomotives, diesel and passenger trains, derailments drawings and many other interesting exhibitions. The museum is open Tuesday through Friday from 9am to 4:30pm, Saturdays and Sundays from 10am to 4:30pm.

Justo Rufino Barrios is a six-meter monument erected in 1897 by Francisco Durini in honour of Guatemala president Justo Rufino Barrios, who was famous for his liberal reforms and his ideas about a unified Central America. At first the statue was placed opposite the Palacio de la Reforma, but was destroyed during the earthquake in 1918 and moved to Plaza Barrios.

Casa Mima is a house-museum, situated in the historic Guatemala City center. The museum was opened in 1999 and is still a very popular cultural spot for locals and international visitors. This late 1800s building is set up like a functioning house with original furniture, decorations, toys, personal belongings, kitchenware, clothing items and many other interesting objects. Fascinating collections of Chinese and Rococo artwork are also beautifully displayed here. The museum is open Monday through Saturday from 10 am to 5 pm.

Guatemala Post Office Building was built between 1937 and 1940. This attractive structure with its notable Arch is one of the most prominent landmarks of the city. The construction of this building was inspired by the famous Santa Catalina Arch in Antigua. The Post Office is situated in the historic center of Guatemala City close to other popular attractions.

National History Museum (Museo Nacional de Historia) is housed in a charming historic building, which has been used as a National Property Registry to date. The museum provides you with a great opportunity to learn about the history of Guatemala’s economy, society and culture since its independence in 1821. It hosts interesting displays of past presidents and other important historical figures, portraits, old documents and other valuable artifacts. There is also a fascinating collection of paintings from the 18th and 19th centuries. The museum is open Monday to Friday 9am-5pm, weekends 9am-12pm and 1pm-4pm.