Ecuador · Pichincha
Plan your Quito trip
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01Your itinerary
02Where to stay
Centro Histórico
Best for first-timers focused on the historic sights and colonial architectureThe colonial core itself — churches, plazas and restored mansions turned boutique hotels, with almost every major historic sight within a ten-minute walk. Busy and safe by day, and considerably quieter at night, which suits some travellers and not others.
A restored colonial mansion hotel near Plaza Grande
Several former republican-era houses in the Centro have been converted into boutique hotels with interior courtyards — a genuinely atmospheric base, with the trade-off that the surrounding streets go quiet early.
€€€A budget guesthouse near San Francisco Plaza
Simple, central, and steps from the Centro's major churches; arrange evening transport in advance since taxis are harder to hail on the Centro's streets after dark.
€La Mariscal
Best for budget travellers, solo backpackers and anyone prioritising nightlife and tour-booking convenienceThe backpacker and nightlife hub around Plaza Foch — dense with hostels, tour operators, bars and restaurants geared toward visitors. Convenient and social, with a late-night safety reputation that requires real care.
A hostel a block or two off Plaza Foch itself
Being just off the square rather than directly on it trades a little nightlife noise for a calmer night's sleep without losing the walkable convenience.
€A mid-range hotel toward the quieter northern edge of La Mariscal
The blocks nearer La Carolina keep the neighbourhood's restaurant access while stepping back from the Foch late-night crowd.
€€La Floresta
Best for travellers who want character and a slower pace without La Mariscal's nightlife churnA calmer, artier alternative just uphill from La Mariscal — independent coffee roasters, galleries and tree-lined residential streets, consistently rated among the more pleasant and secure areas for visitors.
A small design-led guesthouse in La Floresta's residential core
Close enough to La Mariscal's restaurants to walk, far enough to sleep through the noise.
€€La Carolina
Best for business trips and travellers who want ease and modern conveniences over historic atmosphereThe modern, business-district north — high-rises, malls, the city's big central park, and a strong cluster of contemporary restaurants. Comfortable and safe, if architecturally interchangeable with any large Latin American capital's business zone.
An international-standard hotel facing Parque La Carolina
Reliable, well connected to the new metro line, and a short walk from the park's running paths and weekend market stalls.
€€€Cumbayá
Best for longer stays, families, and anyone who wants a break from the cool, grey highland climate of the centreA warmer valley suburb about twenty minutes east of the centre, popular with expatriates and wealthier Quiteños, with a noticeably milder microclimate, shopping malls and a strong independent café and restaurant scene.
A boutique hotel or serviced apartment near Cumbayá's main plaza
You trade proximity to the historic sights for genuinely better weather and a slower, more residential pace — worth it on a stay of five days or more.
€€Affiliate notePostcardRoute is reader-supported. Some links to Booking.com (stays, flights, car hire, tickets and tours, airport transfers) are affiliate links, tracked through CJ Affiliate: if you book through them we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only recommend places we would send a friend.
03Tickets & tours
Basílica del Voto Nacional
The largest neo-Gothic basilica in the Americas, still technically unfinished — local legend holds that finishing it entirely would herald the end of…
Tip Climb the towers via the narrow stone stairs and exposed metal ladders for a 360-degree view over the Centro Histórico — not for anyone uneasy with heights or tight…
TelefériQo
A cable car climbing the eastern flank of Pichincha volcano to Cruz Loma at roughly 4,050 metres, one of the higher aerial lifts anywhere, in about…
Tip Go on a clear morning; afternoon cloud regularly closes in and erases the view entirely.
Plaza Grande and the Palacio de Carondelet
The civic and religious heart of the Centro Histórico: the presidential palace, the cathedral, and the archbishop's palace ring a square that has…
Tip Weekday mornings are calmest; come back at dusk to watch the plaza's evening light hit the surrounding facades before you retreat from the Centro for dinner elsewhere.
Iglesia y Convento de San Francisco
Founded in 1535, within weeks of the city's Spanish refoundation, and built over more than 150 years on the site of an earlier Inca structure — the…
Tip The attached museum sections, easy to skip in a rush, hold some of the finest Escuela Quiteña religious art in the country; budget real time rather than a quick look at…
La Compañía de Jesús
A Jesuit church whose interior is sheeted almost entirely in gold leaf, one of the most extravagant Baroque interiors anywhere in the Americas, built…
Tip Photography is restricted inside — put the phone away and just look, the interior rewards slow attention more than a photo would capture anyway.
El Panecillo and the Virgin of Quito
A hill at the southern edge of the Centro Histórico topped by a roughly 30-metre aluminium statue of a winged, crowned Virgin Mary standing on a…
Tip Take a taxi directly to the viewpoint rather than walking up from the Centro — the surrounding streets have a poor safety reputation, while the summit itself is safe and…
La Ronda
A narrow, restored colonial street in the Centro Histórico lined with brightly painted facades, flower-hung balconies and small artisan workshops by…
Tip Come specifically in the early evening, when it shifts from a quiet daytime street into its livelier after-dark version — but treat it as a there-and-back trip by car…
Casa del Alabado Museum of Pre-Columbian Art
A restored seventeenth-century colonial house holding more than 5,000 pre-Hispanic archaeological pieces, around 500 on permanent display, presented…
Tip Considerably quieter than the churches nearby and easy to have almost to yourself on a weekday — a good counterpoint to an otherwise church-heavy day in the Centro.
Mitad del Mundo
The equatorial-line monument at San Antonio de Pichincha, marking the line surveyed by the French Geodesic Mission in 1736 — a 30-metre trapezoidal…
Tip Modern GPS shows the actual equator runs about 240 metres from the monument's painted line; the nearby Intiñan Solar Museum claims to sit on the true line (though even…
Day trips from Quito
Otavalo Market
About two hours north, one of the largest and longest-running indigenous markets in South America, run by the Kichwa Otavaleño people and famous for…
Day tripCotopaxi National Park
Roughly ninety minutes to two hours south, home to one of the world's highest continuously active volcanoes, its near-perfect snow-capped cone…
Day tripMindo Cloud Forest
About two hours northwest, dropping from the cool highlands into warm, biodiverse cloud forest — serious birdwatching (hundreds of species, including…
Day tripQuilotoa
A three- to three-and-a-half-hour drive south, a water-filled volcanic crater with a startling turquoise-green lake far below the rim.
Day tripEverything to do in Quito
Skip-the-line tickets, guided tours and day trips, all in one place on Booking.com.
04Getting there & around
Getting around a city that finally has a metro
For most of its modern history Quito's public transport meant the Trolebús and Ecovía lines — electric trolleybus and articulated-bus corridors running the length of the city's main north-south axis, workable but badly overcrowded at rush hour.
Flights
Compare fares into Quito and pick dates that suit the days you planned.
Airport transfers
Book a private or shared ride from the airport so the first evening starts at your door, not at a ticket queue.
Car hire from Quito
Only worth it for day trips beyond the city — in town, the plan above works on foot and public transport.
Affiliate notePostcardRoute is reader-supported. Some links to Booking.com (stays, flights, car hire, tickets and tours, airport transfers) are affiliate links, tracked through CJ Affiliate: if you book through them we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only recommend places we would send a friend.