Quito: The Best Things to Do
Quito rewards a slow first day. The city sits at about 2,850 meters, and since the airport at Tababela is actually lower, around 2,400 meters, you’re climbing into altitude rather than descending into it. Ease in, then work through this list.
1. Walk the Centro Histórico. Quito’s Old Town was named in UNESCO’s first-ever World Heritage cohort in 1978 and is widely considered the best-preserved colonial center in Latin America. Start at Plaza Grande, the main square flanked by the presidential palace and the cathedral.
2. La Compañía de Jesús. The Jesuit church’s interior is covered in gold leaf, an exact quantity that’s genuinely disputed among sources, so treat “several tons” as an estimate. Around $6 for adults, free the first Sunday of the month.
3. San Francisco Church and Convent. The largest religious complex in South America and the birthplace of the Quito School of colonial sculpture, including the original winged Virgin that later inspired the statue on El Panecillo.
4. Climb the Basílica’s towers. Steep stairs and ladders lead up a neo-Gothic tower decorated with gargoyles carved as Galápagos animals rather than the usual European grotesques. About $2 for the towers.
5. Take a taxi up El Panecillo. The hilltop’s winged Virgin statue has genuine mugging history on the walk up, so don’t attempt it on foot. The summit itself is patrolled and safe, and the panorama over the Old Town is one of the best in the city.
6. Ride the TelefériQo. This cable car climbs from roughly 2,950 to 4,050 meters up Pichincha’s slopes in about twenty minutes. Morning rides get the clearest views before afternoon cloud builds in. Around $8.50.
7. See Mitad del Mundo for what it actually is. The famous equator monument is about 240 meters off the true GPS line; the real equator, along with the fun water and balance demonstrations, is next door at Museo Intiñan. Worth visiting both rather than assuming the monument alone tells the whole story.
8. Evening on La Ronda. This restored colonial street is genuinely charming for canelazo and empanadas de viento, and it’s safe on the lit main strip. The side alleys behind it are a different story after dark, so stick to the main lane.
9. Otavalo’s market as a day trip. About ninety minutes to two hours north, this is one of South America’s great indigenous textile markets, busiest on Saturdays but running daily.
10. Cotopaxi National Park. The 5,897-meter volcano is a genuine day trip at roughly two hours out, though it’s worth checking current park and eruptive status before you commit to a plan.
11. Mindo’s cloud forest. Around two hours from the city, with hummingbirds, chocolate tours, and enough birding to fill a full day on its own.
12. Getting between all of this. The Quito Metro’s Line 1, running since 2023, plus the Trolebús and Ecovía bus lines cover the city well by day. After dark, use an app like Uber, Cabify, or inDrive, or a licensed orange-plate taxi. Street-hailed cabs carry a real express-kidnapping risk here that’s worth taking seriously.
Read more: for a fuller sense of timing and cost across a full trip, see our main Quito guide and the 2-day itinerary if you’re tight on time.