La Boca del Lobo, 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

...with churches. It's a lovely place to wander round for a day or two. The new city extends to the north of the old city, and the bit that most tourists are concerned with is Gringoland. Which, as the name suggests, is full of gringos, and sounds a bit like an adventure theme park or something. Unfortunately it's not. Gringoland (also called 'La Mariscal') is the area in Quito with all the most touristy and expensive restaurants, bars, clubs and internet cafes. The two most distinctive noises in Quito are dogs barking, and car horns honking. South American drivers are maniacs - instead of slowing down at a junction, for example, they'll simply honk their horn quickly and then speed right over it. One of the other distinctive things about Quito is the smog, which is awful. It's unbelievable the amount of thick black smoke that some buses... 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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