New health protocol

1. All tour tickets must be purchased through our website.

2. Visitors must wear a mask all the time.

3. In order to enter the house, the guards have to check all visitor's temperatures. If someone's temperature exceeds 37.4 degrees Celsius, they will not be allowed to enter the house.

4. Upon entry, all visitors must apply hand sanitizer and/or enter directly into the restrooms to wash their hands.

5. In order to maintain the recommended physical distancing requirements, the maximum capacity for each tour will be 5 people.

6. It is strictly forbidden to touch any furniture or objects in the house (except if indicated by the tour guide.)

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Casa Popenoe is the first restored house following archaeological principles, what is known today as “Colonial-style” in Antigua Guatemala. Its influence is unimaginable and has enriched the city and its surroundings.

Plan Your Visit

To learn about the different and fascinating aspects of Casa Popenoe, we offer three unique guided tours:

Closed:

Easter (Holy Week), November 1st (Día de los muertos), between Christmas and New Year, and for private events.

EXPERIENTIAL TOUR

Tour of the house. Available on Thursday in the morning from 10:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.
No minimum required. The maximum is 5 participants.

TOUR WITH THE CURATOR

The Curator of Casa Popenoe, Martín Fernández-Ordóñez, gives a tour focused on artistic elements of the house, such as architectural details, works of art, and furniture.
No minimum required. The maximum is 5 participants.
Available upon request.

History of Casa Popenoe

The story of Casa Popenoe is intertwined with many other stories, all of which contribute to the history of this unique residence. For example, the story of the relocation of the capital city of Guatemala from Antigua to what is now Guatemala City; the impact that earthquakes have had on Guatemalan architecture; the role of foreigners in preserving colonial architecture as cultural heritage; and the vision of one man and his wife to undertake the titanic restoration of this property... The following timeline allows us to understand more how all these stories are interwoven in the history of Casa Popenoe and what were the most significant events.

Timeline Wilson and Dorothy Popenoe

Activities

Casa Popenoe offers a wide range of cultural and academic activities, based on the artistic and scientific disciplines related to the house.

Monthly Conferences

Temporary Exhibitions

Archive and Research

Orchidarium that Wilson Popenoe built among the "ruin" in the main garden of the house, in the early 1940's. Francisco Marroquin University recently carried out the recovery of the orchids. Currently there are more than 42 endemic species, from different parts of Guatemala.

View of the herb garden from the terrace (roof of the pigeon loft) In this image you can appreciate the meticulous restoration process of the mixtilinear planters, so characteristic of the baroque of Antigua. Photograph taken around 1931. This garden was one of the first parts of the house to be intervened and one of the few that Dorothy, Wilson's first wife, managed to see finished before her tragic and sudden death.

First service courtyard, leading to the historic bathroom and kitchen. This photograph was taken in 1929, before work began on restoring the house. Note the excellent state of conservation of the towers. The one on the left corresponds to the kitchen chimney lantern; the one on the right, to the tower of the steps leading from the pigeon loft to the terrace.

Beautiful image of a woman sitting on one of the built-in benches, part of the characteristic corner balcony, in the Main Hall of Casa Popenoe. The photograph has no date, but it could be placed at the end of the 1930s, when the restoration of all the rooms had been completed.