There are lots of great museums located in the UNESCO World Heritage listed historic city center of Quito, Ecuador. Some are historical sites and homes while others display art and artifacts.
There are a few points of interest in the UNESCO World Heritage listed historic city center of Quito, Ecuador, that aren’t museums or churches. This entry talks about a small handful them.
The Basilica of the National Vow (Basílica del Voto Nacional), a huge church built in 1926, is located in the UNESCO World Heritage listed historic city center of Quito. It’s the largest neo-Gothic church in the Americas.
There’s a great variety of restaurants in Quito, from traditional Ecuadorean food to excellent international cuisine. We had a few opportunities to try some of the restaurants in town.
Quito caught me by surprise. I wasn’t expecting much from this capital city but it definitely has a lot to offer. It’s got plenty of historical places to visit along with quality museums, nice parks, and a wide variety of food.
The Equator monument at La Mitad del Mundo isn’t the only thing to see in San Antonio de Pichincha. There are some very interesting Inca ruins, the crater of an inhabited volcano, and another Equator museum which claims to be the true location of the Equator. You can do some of them on a guided tour booked at La Mitad del Mundo or it’s possible to do all of them alone.
I’ll be honest with you. Mitad del Mundo (Middle of the World), a touristic “city” within San Antonio de Pichincha, is a cheesy tourist trap. Its large 30m tall monument is said to be exactly on the equator but is actually about 240m off the mark (nobody looking at the pictures of you straddling the yellow line has to know).
To really appreciate the craft markets of Otavalo, it’s worth checking out a few nearby villages that are famous in the area for their artisan crafts. There are also some other interesting attractions near Otavalo that are good to visit.