Things to do · Quito · Ecuador
16 best things to do in Quito
16 sights and experiences ranked for a first visit, with honest notes on time, cost and crowds.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Cayambe, CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answer
The essential sights in Quito are Plaza Grande and Carondelet Palace, Church of La Compañía de Jesús and Church and Convent of San Francisco. Of the 16 picks below, 4 are free, 4 work on a rainy day and 5 suit children. Allow about 4 days to see the highlights without rushing.
Key facts
- Top sight
- Plaza Grande and Carondelet Palace
- Free sights
- 4
- Good on a rainy day
- Capilla del Hombre and Casa Museo Guayasamín
- Time to see the highlights
- 4 days
At a glance
| Sight | Area | Time needed | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plaza Grande and Carondelet Palace | Centro Histórico | 1 hour | Free |
| Church of La Compañía de Jesús | Centro Histórico | 45 minutes | Low cost |
| Church and Convent of San Francisco | Centro Histórico | 1–1.5 hours | Low cost |
| El Panecillo | El Panecillo | 1 hour | Low cost |
| TelefériQo | Pichincha slopes | 2–3 hours | Mid-priced |
| Ciudad Mitad del Mundo | San Antonio de Pichincha | Half a day | Mid-priced |
| Basílica del Voto Nacional | Centro Histórico | 1–1.5 hours | Low cost |
| Calle La Ronda | Centro Histórico | 1 hour | Free |
| Capilla del Hombre and Casa Museo Guayasamín | Bellavista (Quito) | 2 hours | Mid-priced |
| Casa del Alabado Museum | Centro Histórico | 1–1.5 hours | Low cost |
| Parque Itchimbía | San Marcos | 1 hour | Free |
| Parque La Carolina and Jardín Botánico | La Carolina | 2 hours | Low cost |
| Yaku Parque Museo del Agua | San Juan | 1.5–2 hours | Low cost |
| Mercado Central | Centro Histórico | 1 hour | Low cost |
| Guápulo Sanctuary and viewpoint | Guápulo | 1.5 hours | Free |
| Museo de la Ciudad | Centro Histórico | 1–1.5 hours | Low cost |
The 16 best things to do
Landmark · Centro Histórico
1.Plaza Grande and Carondelet Palace
Officially the Plaza de la Independencia, Quito's main square is the political centre of Ecuador, with the white colonnaded Carondelet Palace, seat of the presidency, on one side and the Metropolitan Cathedral on another. Shoe-shiners, retirees and street vendors gather around the independence monument, and the cathedral's rooftop gives a view over the square.
Start your Old Town walk here early in the morning, then follow Calle García Moreno south past La Compañía towards La Ronda.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Free
- Book ahead
- Free tours of the Carondelet Palace are offered on many days but need registration with identification at the palace entrance.
- Iconic
- Free
- History
- Architecture
Religious site · Centro Histórico
2.Church of La Compañía de Jesús
The Jesuit church on Calle García Moreno took more than 160 years to complete and is famous for an interior covered almost entirely in gold leaf over carved cedar, with Moorish-influenced patterns on its ceilings. It is the most elaborate Baroque church in the city and is run as a museum with a small entry fee.
Visit on a bright day when sunlight through the dome makes the gilding glow, and look for the painting of hell near the entrance.
- Time needed
- 45 minutes
- Cost
- Low cost
- Iconic
- Architecture
- History
- Art
Religious site · Centro Histórico
3.Church and Convent of San Francisco
Begun in the 1530s soon after the Spanish founded the city, the San Francisco complex is one of the largest colonial religious ensembles in the Americas. Its stone plaza is the biggest open space in the Old Town, and the attached museum displays works of the Quito School of colonial painting and sculpture in cloisters around a garden.
After the church, visit the museum cloisters and then have a coffee in the arcades along the plaza's edge.
- Time needed
- 1–1.5 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Iconic
- History
- Architecture
- Art
Viewpoint · El Panecillo
4.El Panecillo
A hill south of the Old Town is crowned by a winged aluminium Virgin of Quito standing on a globe, assembled in the 1970s from thousands of pieces. The summit gives one of the best views over the colonial centre and the northern city, and you can climb inside the statue's base for a small fee.
Take a taxi up and ask it to wait; do not walk the stairs from the Old Town, where robberies have been reported.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- Views
- Iconic
- Photo spot
Viewpoint · Pichincha slopes
5.TelefériQo
One of the highest passenger cable cars in the world carries gondolas from the western edge of the city up to Cruz Loma, at about 3,950 metres on the slopes of Pichincha. From the top there are views over the whole valley and, on clear mornings, Cotopaxi and other volcanoes; trails continue towards Rucu Pichincha for acclimatised hikers.
Go early, as clouds usually build by midday, and bring a warm jacket; spend a day or two in Quito first to acclimatise.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Views
- Iconic
- Outdoors
- Active
- Kids
Landmark · San Antonio de Pichincha
6.Ciudad Mitad del Mundo
About 25 km north of the centre, a 30-metre monument marks the equator line calculated by the French Geodesic Mission in the 18th century, surrounded by a park of museums, shops and restaurants. GPS shows the true equator lies a few hundred metres away; the small Intiñan museum nearby makes a playful show of equator experiments.
Combine it with the Pululahua crater viewpoint, a few kilometres away, and go in the morning before the clouds settle.
- Time needed
- Half a day
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Iconic
- Kids
- Photo spot
- History
Religious site · Centro Histórico
7.Basílica del Voto Nacional
This large neo-Gothic basilica, begun in the 1890s, replaces traditional gargoyles with stone tortoises, iguanas and other Ecuadorian animals. Visitors can climb its towers by internal stairs and steep ladders to a viewpoint above the clock, looking across the Old Town to El Panecillo.
The final ladders to the top are exposed and narrow; skip them if you dislike heights and enjoy the view from the lower walkway.
- Time needed
- 1–1.5 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Views
- Architecture
- Active
- Photo spot
Street · Centro Histórico
8.Calle La Ronda
A narrow colonial lane of whitewashed houses with wooden balconies and flower pots, La Ronda holds traditional craft workshops, small cafés and bars serving canelazo. It is livelier in the evening and on weekends, when musicians play and families stroll.
Come in the early evening for a canelazo and empanadas de viento, then return to your hotel by taxi.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- After dark
- Food
- Couples
Gallery · Bellavista (Quito)
1.Capilla del Hombre and Casa Museo Guayasamín
Oswaldo Guayasamín, Ecuador's best-known painter, designed the Capilla del Hombre as a monument to the peoples of Latin America, filled with his large expressionist canvases about suffering and resistance. His neighbouring house displays his own collection of pre-Columbian and colonial art and has a garden with city views.
Take a taxi up the Bellavista hill and see both buildings on one ticket; the guided visits help explain the paintings.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Art
- History
- Rainy day
- Views
Museum · Centro Histórico
2.Casa del Alabado Museum
In a restored 17th-century house near Plaza San Francisco, this museum shows pre-Columbian Ecuadorian ceramics, stone seats and gold work arranged around themes of the cosmos and ancestors rather than by date. It is compact, well lit and labelled in English.
Visit it before La Compañía to understand the indigenous symbolism that later appears in colonial art.
- Time needed
- 1–1.5 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Art
- Rainy day
Park · San Marcos
3.Parque Itchimbía
A hilltop park east of the Old Town with eucalyptus woods, walking paths and an iron-and-glass 'Crystal Palace' used as a cultural centre. Its lookouts give a wide view over the colonial rooftops towards El Panecillo and Pichincha.
Visit at sunset by taxi and look down on the church domes as the lights come on.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Views
- Outdoors
- Couples
Park · La Carolina
4.Parque La Carolina and Jardín Botánico
The city's main central park stretches for over a kilometre between Avenida Amazonas and Avenida de los Shyris, with paddle boats, playgrounds, sports courts and weekend food stalls. The Jardín Botánico de Quito inside it has orchid and bromeliad greenhouses and gardens representing Ecuador's ecosystems.
Visit the orchid greenhouse in the botanical garden, then rent a paddle boat on the lake with children.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Kids
- Outdoors
- Nature
- Free
Museum · San Juan
5.Yaku Parque Museo del Agua
Built around Quito's old water-storage tanks on a hillside above the Old Town, this museum explains water and the environment through hands-on exhibits, fountains and outdoor play areas. Children enjoy the interactive displays, and the terraces look out over the colonial centre.
Pair it with the Basílica del Voto Nacional, a short taxi ride or a steep walk below.
- Time needed
- 1.5–2 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Kids
- Views
- Rainy day
Market · Centro Histórico
6.Mercado Central
A short walk east of the Plaza Grande, Quito's central market is the place for a cheap lunch of locro de papa, corvina frita or a fresh fruit juice at counters run by the same families for decades. The ground floor sells fruit, flowers and vegetables.
Go at lunchtime, order a locro and a juice at a busy stall, and keep your bag in front of you.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- Food
- Photo spot
Religious site · Guápulo
7.Guápulo Sanctuary and viewpoint
The 17th-century Sanctuary of Our Lady of Guápulo, with its dome and colonial paintings, sits at the bottom of a steep valley below Avenida González Suárez. The lookout at the top of the lanes, near the Hotel Quito, frames the church against the eastern valleys.
Walk down from the viewpoint through the lanes and take a taxi back up; the climb is tough at this altitude.
- Time needed
- 1.5 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Views
- Off the beaten path
- Photo spot
Museum · Centro Histórico
8.Museo de la Ciudad
Housed in the colonial San Juan de Dios hospital on Calle García Moreno, near La Ronda, this museum tells the story of daily life in Quito from pre-Hispanic times to the 20th century, with reconstructed scenes and models that children can follow.
Visit it early in an Old Town day to put the churches and plazas in context.
- Time needed
- 1–1.5 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Rainy day
- Kids
Pick by interest
| Interest | Best picks |
|---|---|
| Art and museums | Church of La Compañía de Jesús, Church and Convent of San Francisco, Capilla del Hombre and Casa Museo Guayasamín and Casa del Alabado Museum |
| History | Plaza Grande and Carondelet Palace, Church of La Compañía de Jesús, Church and Convent of San Francisco and Ciudad Mitad del Mundo |
| Views | Basílica del Voto Nacional, El Panecillo, TelefériQo and Capilla del Hombre and Casa Museo Guayasamín |
| Outdoors and nature | TelefériQo, Parque Itchimbía and Parque La Carolina and Jardín Botánico |
| Food and markets | Calle La Ronda and Mercado Central |
| After dark | Calle La Ronda |
| With children | TelefériQo, Ciudad Mitad del Mundo, Parque La Carolina and Jardín Botánico and Yaku Parque Museo del Agua |
| On a rainy day | Capilla del Hombre and Casa Museo Guayasamín, Casa del Alabado Museum, Yaku Parque Museo del Agua and Museo de la Ciudad |
What to book ahead
- Plaza Grande and Carondelet Palace: Free tours of the Carondelet Palace are offered on many days but need registration with identification at the palace entrance.
Plan the rest of your trip
Questions travellers ask
+What is the number one thing to do in Quito?
Plaza Grande and Carondelet Palace. Officially the Plaza de la Independencia, Quito's main square is the political centre of Ecuador, with the white colonnaded Carondelet Palace, seat of the presidency, on one side and the Metropolitan Cathedral on another.
+What can you do for free in Quito?
Plaza Grande and Carondelet Palace, Calle La Ronda, Parque Itchimbía and Guápulo Sanctuary and viewpoint. More free things to do.
+What is there to do in Quito when it rains?
Head indoors to Capilla del Hombre and Casa Museo Guayasamín, Casa del Alabado Museum, Yaku Parque Museo del Agua and Museo de la Ciudad.
+What is there to do in Quito at night?
Calle La Ronda are best after dark.