Things to Do in Quito: Baroque Gold Churches, Volcanoes and the Equator

Quito's visual identity rests on the fusion of Spanish Baroque architecture and indigenous craftsmanship developed between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries by the Quito School of Art (Escuela Quitena), led by master sculptors Bernardo de Legarda and Manuel Chili, known by his Kichwa name Caspicara. Within a few blocks of Plaza Grande, monumental convents built of dark grey Pichincha andesite stone open onto cedar ceilings gilded in 23-karat leaf. Beyond the historic core, cable cars and mountain highways climb into high-altitude paramo grasslands and volcanic calderas. Use our 3-day Quito itinerary to sequence these sights efficiently.

Essential Architectural and Cultural Landmarks

1. Step inside Iglesia de la Compania de Jesus: Constructed over 160 years between 1605 and 1765, this Jesuit church pairs a carved volcanic-stone portal of six Solomonic columns with a triple-aisled nave and Mudéjar geometric vaulting covered in gold leaf.
2. Explore Iglesia y Convento de San Francisco: Begun in 1535 by Flemish Franciscan friars Jodoco Ricke and Pedro Gocial, the 3.5-hectare complex encompasses 13 cloisters, the original 1566 Franciscan brewery, and Bernardo de Legarda's 1734 sculpture of the Winged Virgin of Quito.
3. Climb the Basilica del Voto Nacional: Designed by French architect Emile Tarlier and begun in 1892, the largest neo-Gothic basilica in the Americas swaps European gargoyles for stone Galápagos tortoises, marine iguanas, armadillos, and Andean condors.
4. Visit La Capilla del Hombre in Bellavista: Inaugurated in November 2002, painter Oswaldo Guayasamin's hillside monument honours the indigenous and mestizo peoples of Latin America with monumental murals overlooking northern Quito.

High-Altitude Viewpoints and Equatorial Excursions

On clear mornings before afternoon clouds gather along the eastern slopes of Pichincha, ride the TeleferiQo gondola lift from 3,117 metres up to the Cruz Loma ridge at 3,945 metres for views across the Avenue of the Volcanoes, including snow-capped Cotopaxi (5,897 metres), Antisana (5,753 metres), and Cayambe (5,790 metres). Twenty-six kilometres north of the city centre, Ciudad Mitad del Mundo commemorates the 1736 Franco-Spanish Geodesic Mission at the Equator alongside the inhabited volcanic caldera of Pululahua Geobotanical Reserve.