Cathedral of Quito (La Catedral), Quito

Advantages: pleasant climate, lots to see, bustling with local activity
Disadvantages: usual big city issues - traffic, smog, beggars, street vendors

...are excellent and include the surrounding volcanoes as well as the city itself. The old city is a place of churches and traditional markets. The central square is the Plaza de la Independencia at the heart of colonial Quito. The square is surrounded by the Cathedral, Presidential Palace and the Archbishop's Palace as well as the much more modern City Hall. There are a number of spectacular churches in this area although many are in need of significant repair. The second major square in the old city is the nearby Plaza de San Francisco. This open cobblestone square is dominated by the Monastery of San Francisco and its associated buildings. Although much of the new city is modern office blocks, it also offers an extensive range of shops and various significant museums. The Casa de Cultura Equitoriana lies just to the side of the Parque El Ejido... Read review

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Advantages: Stunning mountains surrounding a bustling and colourful city
Disadvantages: The smog

...), and also from the Basilica, just outside the old city. The Basilica is absolutely massive, very dark and plain inside (much less gaudy than the cathedral in the old city), but definitely worth paying to go up to the top. There are also fantastic views from the park Itchimbia, up on the east side of Quito - a good place to go for sunset. Casa de la Cultura: if you want a good museum, then this is probably the biggest and best. It's about a 15 minute walk from Gringoland along Juan Leon Mera. It's a huge place, with four floors, and a very comprehensive collection which covers everything from BC to the present day - there's an archeological floor full of pots and fertility statues and the like, a tiny side museum of gold (with some fantastic tiny gold llamas), two floors of colonial and republican art, and another of contemporary art. It... Read review

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Advantages: Beautiful setting, churches and Spanish colonial architecture
Disadvantages: Traffic noise and fumes, some street crime

...We happened upon the Plaza de la Fundación rather by accident, because it does not feature prominently in the guide books. Fortunately, my wife and I had only just started out on our walk around the old town of Quito, and it helped us orient ourselves, both historically and geographically. As its name implies, the Plaza de la Fundación was where the original Spanish colony was founded. An Inca city had stood on the site, but was hastily demolished by its inhabitants, a tribe who called themselves the Quitu, to prevent it falling intact into the hands of the conquerors. Not long before, the last Inca emperor Atahualpa had been perfidiously executed, despite a vast ransom having been paid for his release, thus starting an ignoble tradition that some Latin American kidnappers persist in upholding to this day. The Quitu must have... Read review

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