Sights in Quito
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Old Town
If you're short on time head straight to the old town. It's here that Quito distinguishes itself from all other cities in the world. Be certain to see the Plaza and Monastery of San Francisco, the Plaza de la Independencia (Plaza Grande), La Compañía de Jesús and the Museo de Arte Colonial.
With its narrow streets, restored colonial architecture and lively plazas, Quito's Centro Histórico (aka the old town) is a marvel to wander. Built centuries ago by indigenous artisans and laborers, Quito's churches, convents, chapels and monasteries are cast in legend and steeped in history. It's a bustling area, full of yelling street vendors, ambling pedestrians, tooting taxis, b…
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Museo Guayasamín
In the former home of world-famous painter Oswaldo Guayasamín (1919–99), this wonderful museum houses the most complete collection of his work. Guayasamín was also an avid collector, and the museum displays his outstanding collection of more than 4500 pre-Colombian ceramic, bone and metal pieces from throughout Ecuador. The pieces are arranged by theme – bowls, fertility figurines, burial masks etc – rather than by era or cultural group, and the result is one of the most beautifully displayed archaeological collections in the country.
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Museo Etnográfico de Artesanía de Ecuador
Just north of the Mariscal, the small but worthwhile Museo Etnográfico de Artesanía de Ecuador exhibits the artwork, clothing and utensils of Ecuador’s indigenous people, with special emphasis on the peoples of the Oriente. It’s run by the outstanding Fundación Sinchi Sacha, and there’s a pleasant café on-site.
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Parque La Alameda
From the northeast edge of the old town the long, triangular Parque La Alameda begins its grassy crawl toward the new town. At the southern apex of the park stands the Simón Bolívar monument. Toward the middle of the park are statues of the members of the 1736-44 French Académie des Sciences expedition that surveyed Ecuador and made the equatorial measurements that gave rise to the metric system.
Nearby, the Quito Observatory, which was opened by President García Moreno in 1864, is the oldest observatory on the continent.
At the north end of La Alameda - an area popular with picnickers on weekends - is a pair of ornamental lakes, where rowboats can be hired.
Nearby, bet…
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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.
Construction of the monastery began only a few weeks after the founding of Quito in 1534, but the building was not finished until 70 years later. It is the city's largest colonial structure. The founder was the Franciscan missionary Joedco Ricke, who is credited with being the fir…
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Plaza Grande
While wandering around colonial Quito, you'll probably pass through the Plaza Grande (formally known as Plaza de la Independencia) several times. The austere white building on the northwest side of the plaza (between Chile and Espejo) with the national flag flying atop is the Palacio del Gobierno (Presidential Palace; García Moreno). The president does indeed carry out business in this building, so sightseeing is limited to the entrance. Inside, a mural depicts Francisco de Orellana's descent of the Amazon. The guard at the gate may allow you in to take a look.
On the southwest side of the plaza stands Quito's recently painted cathedral with religious paintings by severa…
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Cathedral
On the plaza’s southwest side stands Quito’s cathedral. Although not the most ornate of the old town’s churches, its interior has some fascinating religious works from artists of the Quito School. Don’t miss the painting of the Last Supper, with Christ and disciples feasting on cuy (roast guinea pig), chicha (a fermented corn drink) and humitas (similar to tamales). The Nativity painting includes a llama and a horse peering over the newborn Jesus. You’ll also see the ornate tomb of Mariscal Sucre, the leading figure of Quito’s independence. Behind the main altar is a plaque showing where President Gabriel García Moreno died on August 6, 1875. He was slashed with a…
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El Panecillo
The small, ever-present hill to the south of the old town is called El Panecillo and is a major Quito landmark.
It is topped by a huge statue of La Virgen de Quito (Virgin of Quito), with a crown of stars, eagle's wings and a chained dragon atop the world.
From the summit, there are marvelous views of the whole city stretching out below, as well as of the surrounding volcanoes. The best time for volcano views (particularly in the rainy season) is early morning, before the clouds roll in. Definitely don't climb the stairs at the end of Calle García Moreno on the way to the statue - they're unsafe due to muggings. A taxi from the old town costs about around US$4, and you can…
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Palacio del Gobierno
The heart of the old town is the Plaza Grande (formally known as Plaza de la Independencia), a picturesque, palm-fringed square surrounded by historic buildings. The austere, white building on the plaza’s northwest side (between Chile and Espejo), with the national flag flying atop, is the Palacio del Gobierno. Visitors can enter by guided tours (in Spanish and sometimes English), which offer a glimpse of the brilliantly hued mosaic depicting Francisco de Orellana’s descent of the Amazon. You’ll also peer in a few of the staterooms. The president carries out business in this building, so sightseeing is limited to rooms not currently in use. On Monday, the changing of th…
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Museo Franciscano
The Museo Franciscano contains some of the church’s finest artwork including paintings, sculpture and 16th-century furniture. Some of the furniture is fantastically wrought and inlaid with thousands of pieces of mother-of-pearl. The admission fee includes a guided tour in English or Spanish. Good guides will point out mudejar (Moorish) representations of the eight planets revolving around the sun in the ceiling, and will explain how the light shines through the rear window during the solstices, lighting up the main altar. They’ll also demonstrate an odd confessional technique, where two people standing in separate corners can hear each other while whispering into the wa…
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La Compañía de Jesús
On Calle Sucre, is Ecuador’s most ornate church, La Compañía de Jesús, capped by green-and-gold domes visible from Plaza San Francisco one block away. The marvelously gilded Jesuit church was begun in 1605 and not completed for another 160 years. Free guided tours in English or Spanish highlight the church’s unique features including its Moorish elements, perfect symmetry (right down to the trompe l’oeil staircase at the rear), symbolic elements (bright-red walls a reminder of Christ’s blood) and its syncretism (Ecuadorian plants and indigenous faces hidden along the pillars). Quiteños proudly call it the most beautiful church in the country and it’s easy to s…
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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.
There's plenty of room for pedestrians, and the outdoor restaurants near the intersection of Vicente Ramón Roca are favorite spots for espresso, newspapers, sandwiches and ice-cold Pilsener, the national beer.
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Monasterio de Carmen Alto
On one side of the Arco de la Reina stands the Monasterio de Carmen Alto. Inside this fully functioning convent, cloistered nuns stay busy producing some of Quito’s tastiest traditional sweets. Top picks include the limones desamargados (literally ‘de-soured lemons’), made by hollowing out tiny lemons and filling them with a sweetened-milk concoction. Purchase them through a revolving contraption, which keeps the nuns hidden, or at the shop next door, where you can also buy traditional baked goods, aromatic waters for nerves and insomnia, bee pollen, honey and bottles of full-strength mistela (anise-flavored liqueur).
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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 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. You can also climb the spiral staircase and three sets of ladders into and above the clock tower. There’s a patio café just outside the church and a snack bar on the tower’s 4th floor.
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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
A few blocks away from the Museo Guayasamín stands one of the most important works of art in South America, Guayasamín’s Capilla del Hombre. The fruit of Guayasamín’s greatest vision, this giant monument-cum-museum is a tribute to humankind, to the suffering of Latin America’s indigenous poor and to the undying hope for something better. It’s a moving place and the tours (in English, French and Spanish, included in the price) are highly recommended. They usually leave upon request during opening hours.
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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 21 nuns inside have only one hour to talk to each other or watch TV. But they make all sorts of natural products (shampoos, wine, hand cream, elixirs and more), which you can purchase from a rotating door that keeps the nuns hidden.
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Monastery of San Diego
Northwest of El Panecillo, this beautiful 17th-century monastery sits in a quiet courtyard behind thick walls above the old town. The only way inside is by tour, which, although it’s recited with the enthusiasm of a mass in Latin, is worth suffering through to see the wealth of colonial art inside. There are outstanding works from both 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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Museo de Arte Colonial
One block to the northeast of Plaza Grande is the excellent Museo de Arte Colonial. In a restored 17th-century building, the museum houses what many consider to be Ecuador’s best collection of colonial art. On display are famous sculptures and paintings of the Quito School including the works of Miguel de Santiago, Manuel Chili (the indigenous artist known as Caspicara) and Bernardo de Legarda. The museum was closed indefinitely for restoration at time of research.
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La Merced
Two blocks northwest of the Plaza Grande, you’ll find La Merced, constructed between 1700 and 1742. At 47m, its tower is the highest in colonial Quito. Legend has it that the tower, the only unblessed part of the church, is possessed by the devil. Supposedly the only person strong enough to resist the devil was a black bell-ringer named Ceferino, and no one has dared enter the tower since he died in 1810. Hence the clock stands still and the bell hangs unrung.
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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. Of Quito’s house museums, this is the one not to miss: it’s a splendidly preserved, 19th-century house, once the home of the city’s best-loved philanthropist, María Augusta Urrutía, and sprinkled with period furnishings, stained-glass windows, European artwork and a lush courtyard. Free guided tours are in Spanish and English.
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Parque El Ejido
Northeast of La Alameda, the pleasant, tree-filled Parque El Ejido is the biggest park in downtown Quito. It's a popular spot for impromptu games of soccer and volleyball. The north end of the park teems with activity on weekends, when open-air art shows are held along Avenida Patria. Just inside the north end of the park, artisans and crafts vendors set up stalls and turn the sidewalks into Quito's largest handicrafts market.
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Parque La Carolina
North of the Mariscal lies the giant Parque La Carolina. On weekends it fills with families who come to pedal paddleboats, play soccer and ride bikes. The park's Jardín Botánico has more than 300 Ecuadorian plants and tree species and an outstanding orquideario (orchid greenhouse) - it's well worth a look. The Museo de Ciencias Naturales, the country's best natural history museum, is next door.
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Plaza 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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Museo de Jacinto Jijón y Caamaño
The Museo de Jacinto Jijón y Caamaño houses an interesting private archaeology collection and an exhibit of colonial art featuring some of the masters of the Quito School. This museum is on the 3rd floor of the library in the Universidad Católica, across the traffic circle from the Casa de la Cultura Ecuatoriana. Admission includes a guided tour (in English if you call in advance).
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