Casa Popenoe, Antigua’s first house restored in the colonial style, opens only for guided visits that you book at least three days ahead on its website: the standard visit costs Q100 per person, runs about 1.5 to 2 hours for up to five people, and is paid online by card, no cash, according to Universidad Francisco Marroquín’s visit pages read on 9 November 2026.
In short: Request a slot on casapopenoe.ufm.edu at least three days before you want to go. Pay through the emailed link (credit or debit card only). Show the confirmation at 6 Calle Oriente n.° 16 (Sitio Escolástico) and arrive ten minutes early: latecomers cannot join and get no refund. Closed during Holy Week, All Saints’ Day, Christmas to New Year and private events. Under-12s free; university students Q50 with ID.
Prices and visit types
All figures below are from the house’s Tarifario on its visit-planning page, read on 9 November 2026.
| Visit or visitor type | Price | Notes from the operator |
|---|---|---|
| Visita experiencial, general public | Q100 per person | Whole house, about 1.5 to 2 hours, up to 5 people per group, Spanish or English |
| Children under 12 | Free | Only under direct supervision of a responsible adult |
| UFM students | Free | Must show student card |
| UFM faculty, alumni, administrative staff | Q60 | |
| University students | Q50 | Must show student card before entering |
| Tour guides | Q50 | Tariff adds that guides accompanying tourists enter free |
| Botanical visit | Q150 | |
| Visit with the curator | Q150 | Martín Fernández Ordóñez; architecture, furniture, art; 2 hours; on request |
| Payment | Online only | Credit or debit card; no cash |
| Contact | (+502) 2413-3258, casapopenoe@ufm.edu | Sitio Escolástico, Casa Popenoe, 6 Calle Oriente n.° 16 |
The Ministry of Culture’s SIC directory carries older numbers: visits by appointment Monday to Friday 8:00 to 16:00 and Saturday 8:00 to 13:00, nationals Q80, university students Q40, school groups with a teacher free. That listing is undated (checked 9 November 2026), and its prices are below the operator’s current tariff, so treat its hours as a rough guide only and call (+502) 2413-3258 to confirm. The house’s own pages publish no fixed opening days; you pick a time on the booking form and the team confirms it.
How booking works
The house’s position is that, because of its historic character, “el ingreso a la misma solo puede efectuarse con un guía” (entry is only possible with a guide). Its visit page sets out four steps:
- Choose a time. Pick the date and time you would like on the request form, at least three days in advance, and choose Spanish or English.
- Wait for confirmation. The Casa Popenoe team reviews the request and either confirms it or offers other times.
- Pay by link. Once the time is confirmed, you receive a payment link by email. The visit will not go ahead without prior payment, and payment is online by credit or debit card only.
- Show the confirmation. After paying you get a confirmation email, which you present at the entrance before the visit.
The rules page adds that visits start punctually: nobody can join a group once it has begun, and the admission fee is not refunded for a no-show or a late arrival. It recommends arriving ten minutes early.
Rules on the day
The house’s conduct rules are specific. You leave backpacks and large bags in a designated space at the entrance. Groups stay together with their guide; nobody walks the house alone. Food and drink are not allowed inside without permission, and you may not touch, move or lean on objects, cupboards or drawers; if you want a piece of furniture opened, ask an authorised staff member. Only the toilets in the Sitio Escolástico may be used.
Photos for personal use are allowed. Commercial photography, or any commercial use of material from the site, needs prior written authorisation from Universidad Francisco Marroquín, and published images must credit Casa Popenoe, UFM.
Closed dates
The home page lists four closures: Holy Week (Semana Santa), All Saints’ Day (Día de Todos los Santos), the stretch between Christmas and New Year, and private events. If your trip is built around the Holy Week processions, Casa Popenoe will be shut for it; the Holy Week 2027 lodging snapshot covers that week.
What you see inside
UFM presents the house as the first one in Antigua restored in the colonial style, and says its influence has reached the whole city and its surroundings. Its timeline frames several stories that cross in the house: the moves of the capital, the impact of earthquakes on Guatemalan architecture, the outsider’s role in valuing cultural heritage, and the vision of a man and his wife who took on the restoration.
Garden and plants are a large part of the visit. UFM says Wilson Popenoe built an orchid house in the early 1940s among the ruin in the main garden, and that the university recently recovered the orchids: the collection now holds more than 42 endemic species from different parts of Guatemala. The herb garden was among the first parts of the house to be restored and one of the few that Dorothy, Wilson’s first wife, saw finished before her sudden death.
Wikipedia (Spanish, secondary source) fills in the ownership history. Wilson Popenoe bought the house in 1930 from Ciriaco Peralta; it was known as the casa del Capuchino, after the cypress that still stands in the main patio. Dorothy Hughes died in 1932, and the decoration was finished in the 1950s by his second wife, Helen Barsaloux. In 2007 his daughter Marion Popenoe donated the house to Universidad Francisco Marroquín on behalf of the family. The article dates the present building to Venancia López Marchán, from 1762, and Popenoe’s restoration to 1930 to 1936.
Finding the entrance
UFM gives the contact address as Sitio Escolástico, Casa Popenoe, 6 Calle Oriente n.° 16. The SIC directory instead lists 16 1a Avenida Sur, and Wikipedia places the property between 1a Avenida Sur and 5a Calle Oriente. Go by the operator’s address and the details in your confirmation email; for the trip into town, see getting to Antigua.
Fitting Casa Popenoe into a day in Antigua
Because the visit is booked to a fixed time, build the rest of the day around it rather than the other way round. With only two or three days in town, the how many days in Antigua guide helps decide which day can take a fixed-time booking. For another house-and-collection visit on the same day, see the Casa Santo Domingo museums. The wider list is on things to do in Antigua.
Sources
- Universidad Francisco Marroquín, Casa Popenoe home page: https://casapopenoe.ufm.edu/ — read 9 November 2026.
- Universidad Francisco Marroquín, Casa Popenoe, Planifica tu visita (booking steps, tariff, rules): https://casapopenoe.ufm.edu/planifica-tu-visita/ — read 9 November 2026.
- Ministerio de Cultura y Deportes, SIC directory listing, Museo Casa Popenoe (undated): https://www.sicultura.gob.gt/directory-directorio_c/listing/museo-casa-popenoe/ — read 9 November 2026.
- Wikipedia (Spanish), Casa Popenoe, secondary source: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casa_Popenoe — read 9 November 2026.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Can I visit Casa Popenoe, and how much does it cost?
Yes, but only on a guided visit booked in advance. Universidad Francisco Marroquín, which runs the house, charges Q100 per person for the standard visit (the visita experiencial), lasting about 1.5 to 2 hours, for groups of up to five, in Spanish or English. Children under 12 and UFM students go free; university students with ID pay Q50 (UFM tariff, read 9 November 2026).
How far ahead do I need to book Casa Popenoe?
At least three days. You request a date and time on the house’s website; the team confirms or offers another slot, then emails a payment link. The visit does not happen unless you have paid beforehand.
Can I pay cash at the door?
No. Casa Popenoe says payments can only be made online by credit or debit card and that it does not accept cash. You show the confirmation email at the entrance.
When is Casa Popenoe closed?
During Holy Week, on All Saints’ Day, between Christmas and New Year, and during private events, according to the house’s website (read 9 November 2026).
Is Casa Popenoe Q80 or Q100?
The Ministry of Culture’s undated SIC directory still lists Q80 for nationals and Q40 for university students. The operator’s own tariff, read 9 November 2026, says Q100 for the general public and Q50 for university students. Plan on the operator’s price.
Are there specialist tours of Casa Popenoe?
Yes. The tariff lists a botanical visit at Q150 and a visit with the house’s curator, Martín Fernández Ordóñez, at Q150; the curator’s visit focuses on architectural details, furniture and works of art, lasts two hours and is scheduled on request.
