Skylines and views

- Views from Centro Cultural Miguel Ángel Asturias, Holiday Inn, Zona Viva, Paseo Cayala and more

Guatemala City is surrounded by mountains and volcanos, that creates a dramatic background for the skyline. There are no really tall skyscrapers, but the city has a lot of highrises around 18-20 floors, some of them very modern, and built in American style. Most of them are situated in Zona Viva and Zona 10, and high in the mountains where the rich live. There are also some tall government highrise buildings and churches in the central parts of the capital. Guatemala City has the second best skyline in Central America, after Panama City. The tallest buildings are; the 31-storey Torre Premier Club from 1999, followed by the 24-storey Marriott Hotel and Euro Plaza, four 72m tall identical glass towers, equally tall as the Pacific Plaza twin towers. However, these figures are a bit unclear since there are no trustable official numbers available.
Grand Tikal Futura is a futuristic office and hotel complex in glass and steel, built in 1996 in the shape of an arch, situated West of downtown. We stayed at the Holiday Inn, an 18-storey 4 star hotel built in 1997, from our room we had great views of the surrounding Zona Viva district's skyline and the mountains. Except for the mountains, the best place to go to get great views is probably the Centro Cultural Miguel Ángel Asturias, the futuristic cultural complex that holds the National Theater, and is situated in the central parts of the city. It lies on a hill overlooking the city. Stairs on the eccentric exterior leads to the roof, where you have amazing 360 degree views of the city.

Torre del Reformador is a 72m high tower south of the city centre, that looks like a simplified version of the Eiffel Tower, and stands right above an intersection at the city's main thouroughfare, 6A Avenida. It was built in 1935 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of the former president Justo Rufino Barrios. In 1986 the bell on the top was replaced by a beacon.