Quito Attractions

Quito's Tourist Attractions

Quito is a wonderful city, it is considered as a city that you should visit if you are from Latin America or come for this part of the continent, it is the first capital of South America to have been named a World Heritage Site, and it has the best preserved Historic Center of the continent as well, it is not enough with that, it also has an innumerable culture and traditions as well as it is where the monument is located in the middle of the world and the exact place where the southern and northern hemisphere is divided in the plant. Is that enough? If not, then we invite you to know the best tourist places in Quito to visit.

What to do in Quito?

Quito, the capital of the Republic of Ecuador, is a city that offers a great diversity of activities that you can do as a family, as a couple or why not alone. It has many places full of history, culture, and even natural wonders.

1. Historic Center of Quito

Old Quito offers you a spectacle, one of the best parts of the city is the colonial sector, a fairly preserved place that still possesses those particular architectural features of the time. This is why, since 1978, the Ecuadorian capital has been considered a world heritage site by UNESCO. Inside the historical center you will find beautiful squares, stone streets, monasteries like San Francisco and Santo Domingo, La Compañía Church, as well as museums, theaters, handicraft markets and much more.

2. Church La Compañía de Jesus Quito

This church will surprise you inside and out, it is religious art that likes own and foreigners, began to be built in the early years of the Colony when the Jesuit order arrived in Ecuador, is a church that inside is completely covered with gold leaf.

3. Plaza Foch

If you're looking for nightlife and a good time in the middle of music, dancing and tasting fast food such as hamburgers, hotdogs and sausages, shawarmas, as well as 'pipes' of various flavors and the best craft beers you should definitely stop by the La Mariscal sector. In Plaza Foch, located in Reina Victoria and Mariscal Foch streets, you can find fun "until the body endures" as it is commonly said in Ecuador, you will find places of all kinds, from traditional restaurants, to cafes, bars or karaokes.

4. La Carolina Park

The park possesses 67 hectares of pure fun, sports and distraction, it really offers many distractions; this place is ideal to take a break after a regular day, or to spend time with family on a Sunday, or also to do sports daily. Throughout the week, it welcomes many athletes who practice cycling, athletics or simply dance therapy. It also has large gardens, such as the botanical garden, and many areas to practice other sports such as football, basketball, volleyball, tennis and even skating.

5. Basilica of the National Vow

It is one of the largest basilicas in South America, a very important point to visit in Quito is definitely this temple, a place that catches you on every floor, the colors of its huge stained glass windows seems magical, as well as climb with adrenaline to the top to take a magnificent picture. Of course you can also enter a mass if you are devout, or visualize the festivities and parades that take place during Easter week.

6. VulQano Park

This is a place that has a list of electronic and video games that offer fun to young and old, a place that you can visit before or after going to the Cable Car and live a completely different day in Quito.

7. Plaza de la Independencia (Independence Square)

In the colonial part of the city, we can not fail to highlight the Plaza Grande or Plaza de Independencia, where is located the Palace of Carondelet, headquarters of the Presidency of the Republic and the Municipal Palace. It is a site full of culture and architectural art, here is also the church of the Cathedral a place where are the remains of Antonio Jose de Sucre.

8. Chapel of Man Museum

This is a place where you can find pre-Columbian archaeological pieces, as well as pieces from colonial times, however these are not the main attraction of the museum, in fact is the personal collection of the most recognized artist in Ecuador, Oswaldo Guayasamín, where you find his career over the years.

9. Quito Cable Car

The TelefériQo or Teleférico could be said to be one of the most important tourist sites in the city. It starts at 2950 meters above sea level up to 4050 meters above sea level: from the top you can see the Pichincha volcano. This place offers an incredible view of the city, you can appreciate its beauty from another perspective, do not miss a unique experience.

10. El Panecillo

El Panecillo, is a place that also offers a view of the city, the particularity of this is that you can see the two faces of the city, in front of the Virgin of Quito is seen all the center and north of the city, and behind it, the south of Quito, a great contrast between both places. Thanks to its location the place has become the main viewpoint of the capital. Inside the structure of the virgin there is a museum where you can learn the history of the construction of the religious figure, which is composed of 7000 pieces of aluminum.

11. Ilaló Volcano

This volcano is located in the valley of Tumbaco, is an inactive volcano but has thermal springs, so it is a very busy place thanks to the centers of hydrotherapy and recreation that offer the service open to the public. You can also hire a guided tour to walk from Tumbaco to the cross at the top of the hill.

12. Middle of the World

The Middle of the World is definitely a place to visit, if you are in Ecuador you should go to the City of the Middle of the World, since it is a place with different cultural, astronomical, folkloric and ancestral manifestations of Ecuador. It is a place that has come to have great international recognition, you can visit this place and place yourself on the line that divides the northern hemisphere from the southern.

13. Pichincha Volcanoes

The Rucu Pichincha and the Volcán Guagua Pichincha are located to the west of the city of Quito, these are to more than 4.500 msnm, reason why it is perfect so that the tourists of the place can do trekking or to stroll to horse.

14. Guapulo

A stop that you can reach inside Quito is Guápulo, here you can go to its viewpoint and relax with the peace of the environment, as well as being able to spend a pleasant time with drink in a relaxed atmosphere. Some call it the 'bohemian neighbourhood' because it is the preferred place for writers and poets.

15. Quito Botanical Garden

This place is located in the Carolina Park, the garden has the natural vegetation that exists throughout the country, something curious is that you can make a tour of the four regions of the country, as it has the environment so that each can be seen from the capital of the country. It includes more than 3,500 species of orchids, a lagoon for water activities and a bonsai garden.

16. Carondelet Palace Museum (Presidency of the Republic)

In this place you can make a guided tour to learn about the history of Ecuador in the last 200 years. This place full of history usually receives approximately 500 or more tourists daily, as you see is a destination quite interesting to know because it allows visitors to approach part of the national identity, all the historical and cultural heritage of the country.

17. La Floresta (The Forest)

This is a cultural site in which you can see sites of cultural and artistic expression, here is the Casa de la Cultura Ecuatoriana, and is quite accessible to visitors.

18. Metropolitan Park

It has more than 570,000 hectares, making it the largest urban park in Quito. In the park those who visit can do multiple activities, among these many routes for walking and cycling in the middle of the forest, as well as space for cycling, hiking, in addition to that there are also places to make barbecues and spend a time with family or friends pleasant, as well as marvel at the incredible view.

More tourist places in Quito

• • Calle de las siete cruces (Street of the Seven Crosses)
  • The Round
  • Museums
  • Church
  • Pululahua Geobotanical Reserve
  • Tumbaco Central Park
  • Live Tungurahua
  • Riobamba Mobile
  • Blessed Father Emilio Moscoso Cárdenas
  • Managers
  • Gastronomic, Artisan, Cultural,  Community, Productive