GuayaquilSights

Square, Plaza sights in Guayaquil

  1. A

    Parque Bolívar

    Guayaquil may be the only city in the world that has land iguanas, some over a meter in length, living downtown. These prehistoric-looking animals, a different species from those found in the Galápagos, are a startling sight in one of Guayaquil's most famous plazas, Parque Bolívar which is also known as Parque Seminario. Around its small ornamental gardens are many of Guayaquil's first-class hotels. On the west side of the park is the cathedral, and a block south you'll find the Museo Municipal and the municipal library. The archaeology room on the ground floor has mainly Inca and pre-Inca ceramics, and several figurines from the oldest culture in Ecuador, the Valdivia (c…

    reviewed

  2. B

    Malecón 2000

    Malecón 2000, one of the most extensive urban-renewal projects in South America, is made up of ponds, playgrounds, sculptures, gardens and river views. From its southernmost point at the Mercado Sur to Cerro Santa Ana and Las Peñas in the north, the malecón stretches 2.5km along the bank of the wide Río Guayas. It’s a gated, policed public space with restaurants, a museum, a performance space, an IMAX movie theater and a shopping mall.

    reviewed

  3. C

    Parque del Centenario

    This plaza, found along 9 de Octubre, is the largest in Guayaquil and marks the midway point between the Río Guayas and the Estero Salado. It's four square city blocks of manicured gardens, benches and monuments, the most important of which is the central Liberty column surrounded by the founding fathers of the country.

    reviewed