Central Quito
Central Quito divides into two distinct parts. The compact old town, known as the centro histórico, is the city’s undisputed highlight, a jumble of narrow streets and wide, cobbled plazas lined with churches, monasteries, mansions and colourful balconied houses. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the old town contains some of the most beautiful Spanish Colonial architecture on the continent and the frenetic crowds of indígenas and mestizos that throng its streets give it a tremendous energy. A reputation for poverty and crime has traditionally discouraged tourists from actually staying here, but a sustained regeneration effort is turning it into a genuine alternative to the neighbouring, bland and modern new town, whose concentration of banks, shops, bars, hotels, restaurants, tour operators and internet cafés is convenient, if a little characterless.
As a major crossroads with 1.8 million residents, Quito is a busy transit hub to which travellers usually return between forays to the jungle, the coast, the Galápagos Islands and the northern and southern sierra. Featuring dozens of language schools, it’s also a good place to learn Spanish, and many visitors spend several weeks or longer here mastering their castellano. It’s an easy city to spend time in, even with the inevitable pollution and screeching horns, but when you fancy a break there’s plenty nearby to keep you occupied.
The new town
The heart of Quito’s new town, officially called Mariscal Sucre but known locally as La Mariscal, is roughly bound by avenidas Patria in the south, Orellana in the north, 12 de Octubre in the east and 10 de Agosto in the west. The main commercial artery, Avenida Amazonas, is lined with banks, tour operators and souvenir shops, but the social focus is the Plaza del Quinde (also called Plaza Foch), at the intersection of Reina Victoria and Foch, where bars, clubs, restaurants and cafés are often thronged with people in the evenings. The jumble of colonial-style town houses, Art Deco villas and functional 1970s blocks means La Mariscal isn’t particularly attractive, but it is where the majority of visitors to Quito base themselves.
There are no really outstanding attractions in the new town proper, except for the first-rate Museo del Banco Central. Yet there is plenty of good stuff to do if you’re willing to take a short taxi ride, most obviously the wonderful TelefériQo, a ski-lift-type gondola which swoops up to a lofty vantage point on the hills west of the capital. On the high ground east of town, the Museo Fundación Guayasamín and the associated Capilla del Hombre showcase the powerful art of Ecuador’s most famous twentieth-century artist, while nearby Guápulo has the feel of a sleepy village far removed from the bustle and noise of the big city. Back in the centre, the new town does benefit from several precious green spaces, the Parque La Alameda, Parque El Ejido, and the extensive Parque La Carolina, where among the trees and cycle paths you’ll find a botanical garden, a natural science museum and the Vivarium, exhibiting snakes and amphibians.
The old town
Quito’s chief attraction is the old town and its dazzling array of churches, monasteries and convents dating from the early days of the colony. Known to Quiteños as el Centro Histórico, the old town falls into a fairly small area that can be comfortably covered on foot in a day; trying to take in the forty-odd churches and assorted museums will quickly leave you feeling swamped and exhausted, so try to single out a few highlights. These should definitely include the three main squares – Plaza de la Independencia, Plaza Santo Domingo and Plaza San Francisco – as well as the charming little Plaza del Teatro. Of the city’s churches, the most impressive are San Francisco, La Compañía and La Merced, along with El Sagrario and San Agustín.
The old town’s most rewarding museum is the excellent Museo de la Ciudad, while the Museo Alberto Mena Caamaño and its waxworks set in evocative surroundings is also worth a visit. A short walk away, the Museo Manuela Sáenz, part shrine to the love between two of South America’s heroes of the Independence era, and the Museo Camilo Egas, a permanent retrospective of one of Ecuador’s greatest-ever artists, are fascinating. For a glimpse inside the best-preserved old-town houses, head for the Casa de María Augusta Urrutia or the Casa de Sucre, while for sweeping views of the city, a short taxi ride up to the summit of El Panecillo is highly recommended, or to the Parque Itchimbía – though the panoramas from the precipitous ledges on the spires of the Basílica del Voto Nacional can hardly be bettered.
Orientation in the old town can sometimes be confusing, as many streets have two different street names: the official name on green plaques, and the historical one painted on ceramic tiles; Calle Sucre, for instance, is also signed as Calle de Algodón (Cotton St).
Museo del Banco Central
Taking up the lion’s share of this landmark oval building is the nation’s premier museum, the Museo Nacional del Banco Central del Ecuador, which houses an incomparable collection of pre-Columbian ceramics and gold artefacts, as well as colonial, republican and contemporary art.
The first hall off the central lobby is the huge Sala de Arqueología, where you’ll find ceramic collections grouped according to the culture that produced them. Among the oldest pieces, near the entrance, are the simple female figurines crafted by the Valdivia culture (3500–1500 BC) – the first group in the Ecuador area to abandon a nomadic existence and form permanent settlements – which show different stages of female development, such as puberty, pregnancy and motherhood, in a touching, naturalistic style. Close by are many fine examples of Chorrera ceramics (900–300 BC), most famously the whistle-bottles in the form of various creatures, which mimic animal noises when water is poured into them.
Perhaps the most striking pieces in this room are the large, seated humans known as the Gigantes de Bahía, the work of the Bahía culture (500 BC to 650 AD), which range from 50–100cm in height and show men and women sitting with their legs crossed or outstretched, wearing many fine ornaments and elaborate headdresses. Also eye-catching are the pots and figurines of the northern coast’s La Tolita culture (600 BC to 400 AD), comprising fantastical images including fanged felines with long, unfurling tongues, or realistic representations of decapitated “trophy heads”.
Among the few non-ceramic works in the room are the stone seats supported by human figures on their hands and knees; these are the work of the Manteño-Huancavilca culture (500–1532 AD) and were probably thrones high-ranking authorities used during religious ceremonies.