Location. Swissôtel Quito is across the street from the World Trade Center in Quito, ... more
Ecuador. The hotel is one kilometer from the Central Bank Museum. Fundación Guayasamín Museum is two kilometers away. The hotel is three kilometers from Colonial Down...
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Price is per double room per night and may vary depending on date booked...
Location. Swissôtel Quito is across the street from the World Trade Center in Quito, ... more
Ecuador. The hotel is one kilometer from the Central Bank Museum. Fundación Guayasamín Museum is two kilometers away. The hotel is three kilometers from Colonial Down...
Information:
Price is per double room per night and may vary depending on date booked...
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 ...
torr 06.07.2008 (12.07.2008)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: exceptional Review of Quito
Advantages: pleasant climate, lots to see, bustling with local activity Disadvantages: usual big city issues - traffic, smog, beggars, street vendors
Quito is the capital of Ecuador and stands almost 3,000 metres high on a plateau nestled among the Andes mountain range. It is just 22 km south of the Equator and yet, because of its height, it benefits from a warm eternal spring-like climate. It is a large and sprawling urban mass that is split into the two distinct areas of old city and new city. This produces a place of startling contrasts – a strange mixture of old colonial and new contemporary architecture, streets populated equally with wealthy businessmen and poor beggars, noisy bustling markets separated by quiet parks and streets, upmarket fashion and souvenir shops contrasting with impoverished street stalls. There are many attractions here including the huge Virgin of Quito who looks down over the city from her lofty position on Panecillo Hill. The views from here are ...
stuartmelvin 21.03.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Quito
