Where to Stay in Quito: Centro Historico, La Floresta and Parque La Carolina

Choosing where to base yourself in Quito depends on whether you prefer stepping directly onto sixteenth-century cobbled plazas at dawn or returning in the evening to contemporary restaurants and leafy residential avenues further north. Because the underground Quito Metro Line 1 links the Historic Centre with the northern business districts in roughly 15 minutes, moving between neighbourhoods during the day is straightforward. Review our Quito travel guide alongside this comparison to plan your stay.

Centro Historico: Colonial Mansions and Early-Morning Plazas

Staying inside the 320-hectare UNESCO World Heritage zone around Plaza San Francisco, Plaza Grande, and the San Marcos quarter puts you within a five-minute walk of Quito's major Baroque churches and museums. Many seventeenth- and eighteenth-century aristocratic courtyard houses have been converted into boutique hotels with stone arcades, interior gardens, and rooftop terraces facing the winged aluminium statue on El Panecillo. Daytime streets hum with commerce, while evenings grow very quiet once museums and shops close; after dark, dine inside your hotel or take brief door-to-door taxi rides.

La Floresta, Parque La Carolina and La Mariscal

• La Floresta (Best for dining and creative culture): Established in 1917 as an early twentieth-century Garden City east of Avenida 12 de Octubre, La Floresta preserves more than 100 Republican and Art Deco heritage homes alongside street murals, independent art-house cinema Ocho y Medio, specialty coffee roasters, and Quito's most acclaimed chef-led restaurants.
• Parque La Carolina, Inaquito and Bellavista (Best for modern comfort and Metro access): Anchored by the 64-hectare Parque La Carolina and served directly by Inaquito and La Carolina Metro stations, this northern district offers international high-rise hotels, shopping centres, the Quito Botanical Garden, and easy hillside access to Bellavista.
• La Mariscal (Budget hostels and central transit): Located north of Parque El Ejido around Avenida Amazonas and Plaza Foch, La Mariscal concentrates budget hostels, travel agencies running Cotopaxi and Otavalo day trips, and casual cafés.