Things to do in Quito
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Quito
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Dry season, best overall window with clearest mornings and best volcano conditions.
Wetter season, routine afternoon rain, greener landscapes, fewer visitors and the best festivals.
Worst months for volcano views, the wettest stretch, Easter week excepted.
What's on
- Fiestas de Quito late Nov-6 Dec
Founding week with parades, concerts, street food fairs and chiva party buses, book early.
- Semana Santa Good Friday
Jesús del Gran Poder procession of purple robed cucuruchos through the Old Town, eat fanesca.
- Inti Raymi late June
Centred on Otavalo and Cayambe, the best excuse to extend a June trip north.
- Día de los Difuntos 2 Nov
Colada morada and guaguas de pan in every bakery.
- Mes de las Artes August
A month of city concerts and exhibitions in clear weather season.
Best things to do in Quito
Iglesia de la Compañía de Jesús
Quito's gold leaf Jesuit masterpiece, the one interior to see in South America, best early or late.
Plaza Grande
Start of the Seven Crosses Old Town walk past palaces and churches to Plaza San Francisco.
Basílica del Voto Nacional
Neo Gothic basilica with Ecuadorian animal gargoyles and a tower climb for the best city view.
TelefériQo
Cable car to Cruz Loma at 4100 metres for the Avenue of the Volcanoes on a clear morning.
Capilla del Hombre
Guayasamín's Chapel of Man and house museum, Quito's most serious and moving cultural sight.
Museo Casa del Alabado
Small pre Columbian museum in a colonial house, curated thematically and easy to love in an hour.
Intiñán Solar Museum
Hands on equator museum on the GPS verified line, more fun and more accurate than the monument park.
Calle La Ronda
Colonial lane that turns social at night with canelazo, music, workshops and empanada stands.
Where to stay in Quito
Centro Histórico
first trip, sightseeing, short stays
Walk out into 16th century plazas, La Compañía and La Ronda, busy and policed by day.
La Floresta
3 plus nights, food lovers, couples
Bohemian residential quarter with coffee, cinema, galleries and many of the best restaurants.
González Suárez / Bellavista
splurge stays, views, quiet luxury
High eastern ridge with design hotels, big views and the Guayasamín museum on the doorstep.
La Carolina / Iñaquito
families, business, long stays
Modern north by the park with malls, supermarkets and easy flat running, low on charm.
La Mariscal
nightlife first travellers only
Densest bars and hostels around Plaza Foch, with a faded edge and petty crime on quiet streets.
Cumbayá / Tumbaco
early flights, acclimatisation, resort pause
Warm lower valleys toward the airport, easier breathing but far from Old Town sightseeing.
Think twice about
- South Quito
Quitumbe, Guamaní, San Roque and the far south have higher crime, no visitor base and a long cross city commute.
- El Panecillo on foot
Do not walk up El Panecillo. Take a taxi up and down instead.
Best restaurants in Quito
Nuema
Ecuador's pioneering tasting menu moving through Amazon, coast, Andes and Galápagos ecosystems.
Quitu Identidad Culinaria
Tasting menu built on Ecuadorian culinary identity, native ingredients and named local producers.
Urko Cocina Local
Locals' fine dining favourite in La Floresta with seasonal Ecuadorian tasting and à la carte menus.
Zazu
Polished celebration dinner blending Ecuadorian and Peruvian seafood with Nikkei touches.
Casa Gangotena Restaurant
Refined mestizaje cooking and afternoon tea on a terrace facing Plaza San Francisco.
Café Plaza Grande
Classic Old Town table for locro, seco and hot chocolate with a front row seat on Plaza Grande.
Bandido Brewing
Craft brewpub in a converted chapel near La Ronda, pouring Quito's best known craft beers.
Mercado Central
Cheapest great meal in Quito: locro, hornado and fresh naranjilla juice where Quiteños queue.
Outdoor things to do in Quito
Cotopaxi National Park
Perfect snow cone volcano with a lagoon walk and a breathless climb to the Ribas refuge at 4864 metres.
Quilotoa Lake
Emerald caldera lake you can view from the rim, hike down to, or kayak on at altitude.
Mindo
Cloud forest town in the Chocó Andino for hummingbirds, waterfalls and chocolate, lower than Quito.
Otavalo Market
South America's largest Indigenous artisan market, at full strength on Saturdays for weaving and hats.
Termas de Papallacta
Polished hot springs at 3300 metres with steaming pools, cold plunges and cloud forest views.
Rucu Pichincha
Marked páramo trail and scramble from Cruz Loma to Quito's own 4698 metre summit.
Biking Dutchman
Quito based operator for the Cotopaxi descent and Avenue of the Volcanoes bike rides.
Parque La Carolina
Quito's big northern park for running, boats and the Sunday Ciclopaseo street closures.
Best hotels in Quito
Casa Gangotena
Restored mansion on Plaza San Francisco with a famous terrace, tea and Relais and Châteaux polish.
Hotel Plaza Grande
All suite mansion hotel on the main square itself, facing the cathedral by the presidential palace.
Illa Experience Hotel
Ten room boutique in the artists' barrio with a fire pit terrace and Nuema as its restaurant.
Le Parc Hotel
Design boutique on the González Suárez corridor with a rooftop bar and big city views.
JW Marriott Quito
Full service international flagship in La Carolina with a big pool, gym and predictable comfort.
Hotel Mama Cuchara
Colonial house hotel with a handsome courtyard and a strong Ecuadorian restaurant at mid prices.
Casa El Edén
Six room owner run boutique in a restored colonial building, praised for breakfasts and welcome.
Hotel Carlota
Design hotel by the Metropolitan Cathedral with one of the centre's good rooftop terraces.
Is Quito expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | $45 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | $135 a person |
| Splurge | $500 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Cotopaxi National Park: a few days ahead
- Antisana Ecological Reserve: weeks ahead
- Los Cerros Golf Club: weeks ahead
- Arrayanes Country Club: weeks ahead
- Casa Gangotena: weeks ahead
- Illa Experience Hotel: weeks ahead
- GO Quito Hotel: a few days ahead
- Selina Quito: a few days ahead
- Nuema and Quitu need reserving as soon as dates exist, weeks ahead for weekend dinners.
- Book Cotopaxi day tours a few days ahead in high season and keep the day flexible for cloud.
- Otavalo is Saturday and the Ciclopaseo is Sunday morning, anchor the weekend around both.
Is Quito safe?
- Theft is the main risk, pickpockets at markets, bus terminals, crowded trolleybuses and Plaza Foch late at night.
- After dark go door to door by app or taxi outside the lively zones.
- Take altitude seriously, rest day one, drink water, no alcohol night one, and descend and seek care if symptoms worsen.
Quito travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Mitad del Mundo monument as your only equator stop, its line is about 240 metres off, do Intiñán instead.
- Walking up El Panecillo, the Mariscal artisan market instead of Otavalo, and TelefériQo after 2pm when cloud builds.
- Quito in a day itineraries stacking Old Town, equator, TelefériQo and a market at altitude.
Getting around Quito: public transport and more
- Airport is 45 minutes to 1.5 hours away in Tababela, budget the transfer on day one.
- Use Uber and app rides at night and between districts, the metro for the north south spine, and walk the Old Town, La Floresta and La Carolina by day.
- Ecuador uses the US dollar, carry small bills and coins for markets and small restaurants.
Who Quito suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Good |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Good |
Make Quito your trip
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