"The ride to Guatemala City turned out to be a rather uncomfortable one, squeezed into a bus crowded with locals, many with goods they had bought at the market. By the time we arrived, it was nearly dark, and not wishing to walk any further than I had to, in what seemed a rather rough area where the bus had terminated, I booked into the first hotel I could find. Though the hotel turned out to be fairly basic, it was cheap, friendly and clean, and I found quite adequate for the one night. 
 
It is difficult to judge a city when only spending a morning having a quick look around, but I got the feeling from what I did see, that they had been the most interesting bits, and that by taking an early afternoon bus on to Antigua, as I decided to do, I would not be missing a great deal more.
 
Guatemala City was founded in 1775 as a new capital after an earthquake in 1773 had badly damaged the then capital at Antigua. The city now has a population of around two million and become a rather dreary looking sprawl of a place, even though it has a number of quite attractive large parks." - MH