Starting off at the equator
April 27, 2005
The city is divided into two parts, the new city,
consisting mainly of modern buildings and high-rises, and the beautiful
old colonial city, where most of the sights are. Most of the hotels are
in the new part of town, but taking a taxi to the old part is not
expensive at all. You will probably be staying in the new part of town
(where most of the hotels are) and doing your sight-seeing in the
colonial part.
A walking tour will take an entire day, and if you are
interesting in visiting the churches (which is to be recommended),
maybe more.
Quito Colonial
Your
walking tour of the Colonial city will probably be centered around the
main squares, Plaza de la Independencia and the Plaza de San Francisco,
and the streets around them. On the Plaza de la Independencia you will
find the government building (Palacio del Gobierno) and the cathedral.
The Plaza de San Fransisco has beautiful vistas (you can see the
Panecillo and the statue of the virgin on top of it from here) and the
Monastery of San Francisco. Not to be missed is the Compania de Jesus
on Sucre. You can see its domes from Plaza San Francisco.
The NewTown
With
so much to be seen in the Colonial part, we didn't spend very much time
in the modern part. The most important street is Avenida Amazonas,
where you can find every kind of modern shop you would wish for. Here
you will find hotels, restaurants, internet cafes, travel agencies,
every facility for the tourist. There is a nice area with a lot of
restaurants and outside dining
Very comfortable and great service
Our stay at the very modern and convenient Hotel Rio Amazonas was part of the package we bought to the Galapagos with GAP Adventures. However, the hotel was so good we booked an additional room at the end of our journey, when returning to Quito from Otavalo and Banos. The service was excellent and friendly and the rooms were more than satisfactory, clean and modern. The hotel is conveniently situated from a shopping area, travel agents and several restaurants (but quite far away from the colonial center of the city). Also, there is an internet cafe just across the street.
When my husband got sick, the front desk went out of their way to find a doctor and get medicines from the pharmacy for him. You couldn't possibly with for better and friendlier service.
Last but not least, the restaurant next door belonging to the hotel serves an excellent seafood ceviche and seafood soup!
When my husband got sick, the front desk went out of their way to find a doctor and get medicines from the pharmacy for him. You couldn't possibly with for better and friendlier service.
Last but not least, the restaurant next door belonging to the hotel serves an excellent seafood ceviche and seafood soup!
View toward Calle Amazonas from ...
