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Arco de la Reina
The 18th-century Arco de la Reina , a massive arch built in the 18th century to give shelter to churchgoers, spans García Moreno. On one side, the Museo de la Ciudad occupies the beautifully restored San Juan de Dios hospital. On the other side of the arch stands the Monasterio de Carmen Alto (cnr García Moreno & Rocafuerte), a fully functioning convent.
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Avenida Amazonas
A solitary stone archway at the north end of Parque El Ejido marks the beginning of modern Quito's showpiece street, Avenida Amazonas. It rolls as far north as the airport, although the strip with which you're likely to become most familiar lies between Parque El Ejido and the busy Avenida Cristóbal Colón. It's the main artery of the Mariscal Sucre area, lined with modern hotels, souvenir stores, travel agencies, banks and restaurants.
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Basílica del Voto Nacional
High on a hill in the northeastern part of the old town stands the Gothic Basílica del Voto Nacional, built over several decades beginning in 1926. Rather than gargoyles, however, turtles and iguanas protrude from the church's side. The highlight is the basilica's towers, which you can climb to the top of if you have the nerve; the ascent requires crossing a rickety wooden plank inside the main roof and climbing steep stairs and ladders to the top.
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Capilla de Cantuña
To the left of the Monastery of San Francisco stands the Capilla de Cantuña, which houses an excellent art collection from the Quito School. It's also shrouded in one of Quito's most famous legends, that of the indigenous builder Cantuña, who supposedly sold his soul to the devil so the devil would help him complete the church on time. But just before midnight of the day of his deadline, Cantuña removed a single stone from the structure, meaning the church was never completed. Thusly he tricked the devil and saved his soul.
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Capilla del Hombre
Guayasamín's Chapel Of Man is one of the most important works of art in South America. This giant monument is a tribute to humankind, to the suffering of Latin America's indigenous poor, and to the undying hope for something better. Broken into 'three' both architecturally and thematically, it mirrors the Inca's reverence for the number. The museum exhibits adhere to the precolonial, colonial and contemporary themes of Guayasamín's career.
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Casa de Sucre
A block-and-a-half southeast of La Compañía is the beautifully restored Casa de Sucre. This is the former home of Mariscal Antonio José de Sucre, the hero of Ecuadorian independence. It is now a small museum, full of early 19th-century furniture.
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Casa Museo María Augusta Urrutía
On Calle García Moreno, just southwest of Calle Sucre, you'll find the Casa Museo María Augusta Urrutía. This restored house was once the home of the distinguished philanthropist María Augusta Urrutía. With plenty of period furnishings, it is a good example of a late-19th-century aristocrat's house.
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Cathedral
On the southwest side of the plaza stands Quito's recently painted cathedral. Although not as rich in decoration as some of the other churches, it's worth popping into for a peak at the religious paintings by several notable artists of the Quito School. You'll also see the ornate tomb of Mariscal Sucre, the leading figure of Quito's independence. To the left of the main altar is a statue of Juan José Flores, Ecuador's first president.
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Centro Cultural Itchimbia
High on a hill east of the old town, the newly resurrected green space of Parque Itchimbia boasts magnificent views of the city. It's the perfect spot to spread out a picnic lunch, soak up the sun and take in the unobstructed 360-degree views. The park's centerpiece is the Centro Cultural Itchimbia, a large glass and iron building modeled after the city's original Mercado Santa Clara. It hosts regular art exhibits and cultural events. The park has cycling paths and walking paths too.
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Centro Cultural Metropolitano
Just off Plaza Grande, the outstanding Centro Cultural Metropolitano was the first restoration work undertaken in the old town. Opened in 2000, it fast became an island of cultural activity and the impetus behind the old town's renovation. It houses several temporary art exhibits and hosts excellent art shows on the main interior patio. Along with two more interior patios and two beautiful rooftop terraces (all worth seeing), it houses an auditorium, a library and a pleasant café.
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Church of El Sagrario
Beside the cathedral on García Moreno stands the 17th-century Church of El Sagrario, originally intended as the main chapel of the cathedral, but now a separate church.
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Church of Santo Domingo
Near the southwest end of Calle Guayaquil, Plaza Santo Domingo is a regular haunt for street performers, and crowds of neighborhood quiteños fill the plaza to watch pouting clowns and half-cocked magicians do their stuff. The plaza is especially attractive in the evening when the domes of the 17th-century Church of Santo Domingo, on the southeast side of the plaza, are floodlit.
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Guápulo
If you follow Avenida 12 de Octubre up the hill from the Mariscal, you'll reach the Hotel Quito at the top. Behind the hotel, stairs lead steeply down the other side of the hill to the historic neighborhood of Guápulo. The views all the way down are magnificent. Ramshackle houses stand interspersed among colonial whitewashed homes with terra-cotta-tile roofs, and the odd bohemian café makes for a welcome break.
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Jardín Botánico
In 2005, Quito inaugurated the park's newest addition, the Jardín Botánico. With more than 300 plant and tree species from around Ecuador and an outstanding orquideario (orchid greenhouse) with nearly 1000 orchid species, it's well worth the admission price. An ethno-botanical garden is also in the works.
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La Cima de la Libertad
Further up the flanks of Volcán Pichincha, one of the finest views of the city can be had from La Cima de la Libertad. This monument was built at the site of the Batalla de Pichincha (Battle of Pichincha), led by Mariscal Antonio José de Sucre on May 24, 1822. It was the decisive battle in the struggle for independence from Spain.
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La Compañía de Jesús
Around the corner from Church of El Sagrario on Calle Sucre is Ecuador's most ornate church, La Compañía de Jesús, which is capped by green-and-gold domes visible from Plaza San Francisco one block away. Seven tons of gold were supposedly used to gild the walls, ceilings and altars of La Compañía, and quiteños proudly call it the most beautiful church in the country.
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La Merced
Two blocks northwest of the Plaza Grande you'll find, La Merced. Construction of this church began in 1700 and was finished in 1742. At 47m, its tower is the highest in colonial Quito, and it contains the largest bell of Quito's churches. Legend has it that the tower, the only unblessed part of the church, is possessed by the devil.
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Mariscal Sucre area
The Mariscal Sucre area, known simply as the 'Mariscal,' is the neighborhood loosely bound by Avenidas 10 de Agosto, Cristóbal Colón, 12 de Octubre and Patria. All the travel-related services you could possibly need can be found in this area. On Avenida 12 de Octubre, just south of the Mariscal, are two worthwhile museums: the Museo Amazónico and Museo de Jacinto Jijón y Caamaño.
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Monasterio de Carmen Alto
The 18th-century Arco de la Reina (García Moreno at Rocafuerte), a massive arch built in the 18th century to give shelter to churchgoers, spans García Moreno. On one side of the arch stands the Monasterio de Carmen Alto. Inside this fully functioning convent, cloistered nuns stay busy producing some of the finest, most traditional sweets in the city.
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Monastery of San Agustín
Two blocks from the Plaza Grande, the Monastery of San Agustín is another fine example of 17th-century architecture. Many of the heroes of the battles for Ecuador's independence are buried here, and it is the site of the signing of Ecuador's declaration of independence on August 10, 1809. In the church's convent, the Museo de San Agustín houses many canvases of the Quito School.
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Monastery of San Diego
Northwest of El Panecillo, the beautiful 17th-century Monastery of San Diego sits in a quiet courtyard behind thick walls above the old town. The only way inside is by tour. Although the tour is recited with the enthusiasm of a mass in Latin, it's worth suffering through to see the wealth of colonial art inside. There are outstanding works from both from the Quito and Cusco schools, including one of Quito's finest pulpits, carved by the notable indigenous woodcarver Juan Bautista Menacho.
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Monastery of San Francisco
Walking from the old town's narrow colonial streets into the open Plaza San Francisco reveals one of the finest sights in all of Ecuador - a sweeping cobblestone plaza backed by the long whitewashed walls and twin bell towers of Ecuador's oldest church, the Monastery of San Francisco. With its giant plaza and its mountainous backdrop of Volcán Pichincha this is surely one of Quito's highlights.
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Monastery of Santa Catalina
Due south of San Agustín stands the Monastery of Santa Catalina, a fully functioning convent and monastery that opened to the public in 2005. Since its founding in 1592, entering nuns have spent five cloistered years in solitary cells. To this day the 20 nuns inside have only one hour to talk to each other or watch TV. But they make all sorts of natural products (shampoos, nonalcoholic wine, hand cream, elixirs and more), which you can purchase from a rotating door that keeps the nuns hidden.
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Museo Amazónico
Above Abya Yala bookstore the Museo Amazónico is run by the Salesian Mission and houses an impressive display of indigenous artifacts collected by the missionaries in the Oriente. It's not huge, but it's an interesting exhibit, especially if you plan to head to the jungle.
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Museo Camilo Egas
Several blocks east of Plaza Grande, inside a beautifully restored colonial home, the Museo Camilo Egas houses a small but excellent exhibit of painter Camilo Egas' work. Egas was Ecuador's first indigenista (indigenous movement) painter, and his paintings of indigenous people - idealistic as they are - are stunning.
