Tours in Quito

EL SAGRARIO CHURCH

The stone facade with its ornamented Salomon columns is an excellent frame for a high Baroque that leaves a practically no space without ornamentation. This style is typical of Bernardo de Legarda's sculpture.

THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH

This church has an interesting collection of sculptures and paintings from the Escuela Quiteña. Among the most important is the "Descending of Christ" by Caspicara. It is a master piece of expressionism. As in most Ecuadorian and Latin American churches, many styles are used in the construction of the Cathedral: Gothic, Moorish and Baroque.

SAN FRANCISCO CHURCH

It is the biggest religious architectonic complex in America. The atrium running along one side of the plaza is opened in the middle to give way to a beautiful staircase. The facade has a style similar to that of the Escorial in Spain. The inside is Baroque style. The coffer ceiling in the narthex has rich Moorish style ornamentation with paintings by Miguel de Santiago.

LA MERCED CHURCH

There you can admire a stone-carved pagan god, Neptune. Also noticeable are Bernardo Legarda's main altar woodcarvings and an image of great beauty of Our Lady of Mercy in stone. The style is Baroque. Adjacent to the Church is Quito's most ancient clock located inside a Monastery built in 1817.

LA BASILICA CHURCH

The Basilica del Voto Nacional, is an imposing church, neo-Gothic in style, with gargoyles representing the national fauna. The building is of stone, which is mostly from the Pichincha quarries. Inside, has huge altarpieces in its lateral vaults. Its tower is the highest of its kind in the whole of Ecuador and can be seen from several points around the city.

LA COMPAÑIA DE JESUS CHURCH

This is one of the richest churches in america. The extraordinary facade can be described as a lacework on stone. Six Salomonic columns in the lower part support a second body of different widths, reminiscent of the Church of Gesu in Rome. The columns are a copy of those by Bernini in the Vatican.

GUAPULO CHURCH

The Sanctuary can be reached by car in about 10 minutes or you can walk down a colonial stone paved path which was the route followed by Francisco de Orellana on his trip to discovery of the Amazon River. The facade and the dome of the church have a simple neoclassic style. The main altar painted by Miguel de Santiago and the image of our Lady of the Guadalupe by Diego de Robles are original masterpieces.

SAN DIEGO CONVENT

The Saint Francis congragation built this church to provide the priests and laymen with a place of retreat. Along the corridors are painting dating back to the XVII C, which had been covered with lime for years and are now being restored. A genuine manifestation of syncretism.

SAN AGUSTIN CONVENT

The firs thing to admire here are the beautiful cloisters in three different levels, the fountain in the colonial patio carved from a single block of stone, the coffer ceiling in the lower cloister, and the huge collection of paintings by the artist Miguel de Santiago. The artist spent most of his life working in the convent to finish the task of painting the scenes of San Augustines's life.

CANTUÑA CHAPEL

The Calvary woodcarvings on the main altar are some Legarda's most outstanding masterpieces. A legend of the chapel says that Francisco Cantuña (the indigenus man that paved the atrium with arge stone blocks) constructed the chapel with the treasures saved from the Kingdom of Quito.

PLAZA DE LA INDEPENDENCIA

This became the main square of Quito in the 16th century. The Spanish were afraid that the Incas might poison their water supply, so the Spanish set up their own protected well here, and this plaza subsequently became the social center of town. Today, Old Town's main square is bordered by the Government Palace, City Hall, the Archbishop's Palace, and the Cathedral.

CASA DE SUCRE MUSEUM

The house of the dashing liberator Grand Marshal Antonio José de Sucre is another fine late-colonial house. Though much of the exhibits pertain to military history, there are also many impressive examples of period furniture and painting.

MUSEO DE LA CIUDAD

Follow Quito's everyday life through the centuries in the beautiful colonial building converted into the "Museo de la Ciudad" (City Museum). The museum is in the interior of the building that once was the San Juan de Dios Hospital and includes an exhibit of the city's history throughout the centuries, from pre-Hispanic times to the nineteenth century.

CASA DE LA CULTURA MUSEUM

This large circular glass building houses a wide collection of contemporary Ecuadorian work and 19th century pieces. There is also a movie theatre that shows international movies and an auditorium where classical and other kinds of music are performed.

MARIA AUGUSTA URRUTIA MUSEUM

Follow along the life the activities of a wealthy and very generous woman of Quito's early XX century. Obsserve the architecture of a typical house in colonial Quito. Enjoy the beautifully decorated interiors and de distinctive clothing and artifacts of the time.

CENTRO CULTURAL METROPOLITANO

The Jesuits originally constructed this building in the XVII century. This museum has a rich collection of colonial art. The Cultural Center also holds a museum of colonial art as well and the Municipal Library. There is a Contemporary Art exhibit room, which houses temporary exhibitions. Enjoy its beauty and history as well as its cultural services.

PLAZA DEL TEATRO

This small traditional square is part of the historic quarter. The Teatro Nacional Sucre can be found here. During the 17th and 18th centuries, the city slaughterhouse operated on one side of this square. At the end of the 18th century the square served as a bullring. The money collected from the sale of tickets to the bullfights was used to build the park La Alameda.

ASTRONOMY OBSERVATORY OF QUITO

This observatory was built between 1873 and 1875. The equatorial telescope, built in Germany and installed in the main tower, was once one of the three most advanced telescopes in the world. The seismograph, installed in the 1920's, is located in the basement and is still working perfectly. The astronomic instruments of the observatory are a great tourist attraction.

ITCHIMBIA PARK

The Itchimbia Park is located at the summit and slope of the Itchimbia hill, at the oriental limit of the Quito's Historic Center, surrounded by neighborhoods like El Dorado, La Tola and San Blas. It is at 2,900 meters and it is considered as a natural lookout point because of the great view that you get from the Quito Historic Center in either way.

QUITO'S BOTANICAL GARDEN

Explore the fascinating world of plants. This garden displays more than 1,200 orchid species, along with other unique flora species of Ecuador. It is located inside de Carolina Park.

EL PANECILLO/VIRGIN MONUMENT

"Panecillo" means "little bread" referring to its peculiar size and shape. The Virgin that stands on the hill, which consists of 7,000 pieces of aluminum, is a modern representation of the famous "Virgen de Quito" the unique winged dancing Virgin conceived by Bernardo Legarda in the XVII century.

TELEFERICO

Quito's recently inaugurated TeleferiQo (cable cars) takes off at 9,680 ft and reaches 13,287 ft in 8-10 minutes. The cable cars climb up to moorlands, allowing the passengers to observe the changing vegetation of the Andean highlands. At the top you find a restaurant. At the feet of TeleferiQo you find "VulQano Park", handicraft plaza, among other entertainment options.

MIDDLE OF THE WORLD

The "Mitad del Mundo City" surrounding the monument includes several restaurants and folklore shops, museums about the missions that measured the Earth, the "Solar Culture Museum" and Planetarium. Inside the Monument is an Ethnic Museum. You can shop and place one foot on the northern Hemisphere and the other on the southern Hemisphere.

GUAYASAMIN MUSEUM AND CHAPEL OF MAN

A stop at Guayasamin's house-museum is a must for any visitor to Quito. This museum exhibits and excellent sample of pre-Columbian, colonial and contemporary art from the private collections of the famous ecuadorian artist Oswaldo Guayasamin. Close to the house-museum is "La Capilla del Hombre".

MINDO

The village of Mindo is located in a remote valley surrounded by a cloud forest. It is also known as "the valley of the eternal spring" and is one the best places for bird watching activities with more than 400 species of birds, including the cock of the rock and hundreds of hummingbirds.