National Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology

Located in the leafy Aurora complex of Zone 13, this is the country's foremost collection of Maya antiquities. Founded in 1931, it holds carved stelae, jade masks, painted ceramics and monumental sculpture drawn from Tikal, Piedras Negras and other lowland sites. A celebrated wooden lintel and reconstructed tombs illustrate Classic-period royal culture, while an ethnography wing documents living Maya textile and mask traditions. The museum sits amid gardens near the city zoo and other cultural institutions.