Hosteria San Jorge, Quito

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

...handsomely flanked by a former convent with white stucco cloisters, is a quiet backwater. Or, at least, about as quiet a backwater as is to be found in the old town of Quito. The narrow colonial streets are ill-attuned to modern traffic, and even in the less busy thoroughfares the growl of engines, the squeal of tyres and the hoot of horns seem to pursue the visitor around, as do the exhaust fumes. Only in the larger squares does one escape; here the predominant noise is that of street-vendors' voices as they hawk everything from sweets and souvenirs to shoe-shines and shoe-laces. One such square is the Plaza de San Francisco, just a few blocks south of la Fundación. Bare and stone-paved, it is dominated by the magnificent frontage of the church of the same name, on which building began just a year or so after the conquest... Read review

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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... Read review

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

...of contemporary art. It's great stuff, and easy to spend a good two or three hours wandering round here. The San Francisco church: there are loads of churches in Quito, but of the ones I stumbled into this one - in the old city - was my favourite. It's absolutely gorgeous inside. The Guayasamin foundation: somewhere in the new city, this foundation contains an exhibition of Guayasamin's work and also two collections he made himself during his lifetime; a highly interesting one of pre-Colombian artifacts (pots, statues, instruments, jewelry, etc, the usual stuff, from indigenous Ecuadorian cultures), and one of Colonial art. Guayasamin is a 20th C Ecuadorian artist, whose work reminds me slightly of Picasso, but just a bit more haunting. It's great stuff - I highly recommend this little place. Mitad del Mundo: I have to admit, we... Read review

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