2010 Trip Dates

Quito (Ecuador)

Quito
The capital and second-largest city in Ecuador, Quito sits high in the Andes with an elevation of 9,300 ft/2,835 m. Because of its elevation, the city has a pleasant, moderate climate despite being just south of the equator. The first thing you will notice about Quito is the mountains (including the active volcano Mount Pichincha to the west of the city—its last eruption was in 1999) that surround the city. The next will be the air pollution, which is held in place by those mountains (Quito occupies a long, narrow valley). The smog is largely created by the hundreds of exhaust-spewing buses—local and intercity—that pass through the city. Quito is Ecuador's principal transportation hub, and although efforts are being made to improve air quality, it remains bad.

Quito's Old Town is a wonder—blocks of colonial architecture, some of it dating from the mid-1500s when the Spanish founded the city. (Before the Spanish arrived, Quito was an important Inca settlement, and before the Inca, other tribes lived at the site.) Vintage facades line the streets, and large open plazas are surrounded by cathedrals and stately public buildings. It has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its beauty. As impressive as the exteriors are, the interiors of the buildings can be even more breathtaking, especially the churches. They gleam with gold—not paint but real gold leaf, and lots of it. Most of the standouts are located within a few blocks of one another. The Monastery of San Francisco is Quito's oldest church—construction began shortly after the city was founded in 1534. It's still the busiest, holding several masses a day.

Several museums are located in the Old Town, including the Museo de Arte Colonial, which features endless depictions of the bleeding Jesus and some amazingly intricate wooden desks. The Museo Municipal Albert Mena Caamano (with colonial and modern art) is another good choice. We especially liked Casa Sucre, the beautifully restored home of Antonio Jose de Sucre, who helped liberate Ecuador from Spanish rule. The displays of maps and weapons are interesting, but it's the house and its period furnishings that are the real attractions. A similarly restored old house is the Casa Maria Urrutia. Be sure to spend time on cobblestoned La Ronda Street, the oldest in town, and then take in Quito's most modern museum, the Museo de la Ciudad, located inside a renovated old mansion and showcasing the city's social history.

Outside of Old Town, Quito is modern and does not possess the beauty of the colonial section (in places, it seems like a study in the many unattractive things that can be done with concrete). What's usually referred to as "New Town," or the Mariscal Sucre, is where most visitors stay. It's home to a large selection of hotels, restaurants, money-exchange houses and upscale souvenir shops. Also in New Town is the Casa de la Cultura, a must-see attraction: It contains the Banco Central archaeological museum, an attached art museum, a vast musical-instrument museum, an indigenous-clothing museum and a modern-art museum.