Quito Things to Do Tips by travelmad478

South America's first cathedral, the Primada was built between 1550-1562. It's been the site of quite a few interesting events, not the least of which was the 1875 assasination of Gabriel Garcia Moreno, Ecuador's first president--stabbed to death by one of his own guards. His tomb is in the church, next to that of his successor, Juan Jose Flores, and around the corner from that of Ecuadorian war hero Antonio Jose de Sucre.

Architecturally, the Catedral Primada is an intriguing mixture of 16th-century Spanish design overlaid with the influence of the local native artists and craftsmen who created much of the artwork. Gorgeous decorative art, such as the hammered-relief silver doors of the rear chapel, are juxtaposed with marble sculptures and huge paintings containing both Catholic and indigenous symbolism and representation. The ceiling is beautifully constructed of wood, rebuilt after a 1797 earthquake that destroyed much of the church's interior.

It costs just one dollar to enter this cathedral, and if you are as lucky as we were, you will be approached by one of the guides to receive a free tour of the whole building. The tours, offered in both English and Spanish, are fantastic--I highly recommend taking the time for one. Our guide was an architecture student who was extremely well-informed about his subject. We couldn't quite believe that we were getting all that knowledge for nothing!

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Although this church was technically closed for renovation when we happened on it, we noticed that a few tour groups seemed to be getting to go inside. We quickly decided that we looked as much like Germans as the group of German tourists that were entering at that moment, and we just followed them in the door like we owned the place. The guards fell for it, and we were in!

Once inside, we just gasped. This church looks mighty impressive from the outside, but the inside is positively staggering. Just about every surface in the church is covered with gold--yup, that is real gold, about seven tons of it (according to the tour guide we were eavesdropping on). Ornately carved panels, ceilings, altars...all shining with gold. Don't miss the painting to the right side of the door, depicting Hell with all of the various sins and their corresponding punishments. Very scary--I think this was used to keep Quito's kids on the straight and narrow.

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On one side of the Plaza de Independencia is the Archbishop's Palace. This is the center of Church administration for Quito, and visitors can walk around the lovely courtyard.

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One of the main squares in the old town of Quito, the Plaza is a bustling center of commerce and civic life, not to mention a great place to people-watch. The square is full of flowers and benches, filled with people and vendors, and surrounded by well-preserved colonial landmarks. The day that we visited, there were several competing political rallies occurring there, since Ecuador's presidential election was just a few weeks away. We parked ourselves on a bench to take in the spectacle.

A side note on this plaza: if you happen to need it, take a stroll into the courtyard to the left of the Archbishop's Palace to visit (among other things) the cleanest public restrooms in town. This very pretty whitewashed courtyard also contains a fast-food restaurant, "Menestras del Negro," with a rather politically incorrect theme.

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The church attached to the San Francisco monastery is Quito's largest, and the complex also contains an excellent museum with a major collection of colonial religious art. To see the whole place, pay $2.50 to enter the museum and take the free guided tour, which includes the choir loft of the church. The loft is decorated with relief sculptures of the martyrs of the church. One of these is Santa Lucia: notice the little golden box she's holding, which contains her eyes--removed with her own hands in order to avoid attracting the attentions of men and stay true to God. (Yikes!)

The museum is housed in one of the cloisters of the monastery, which is still a working religious institution. A special part of the collection is the paintings on alabaster. There are also paintings, carvings, sculptures, and architectural pieces.

In this museum, and indeed throughout all of Quito's religious monuments, we were struck by the amazing bloodiness of all of the representations of the sufferings of Christ and the various martyrs. In Quito, the Indian artists who were responsible for most of the religious artwork were very enthusiastic with their depictions of blood and gore. One of our guides mentioned that this was a subtle reference to the suffering that Ecuador's indigenous people had similarly endured at the hands of the Spanish conquerors.

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This church, in the southeast part of the old town, is impressive on the outside but badly in need of restorations for the interior. The decorations are not as lavish as in some of Quito's other churches. One interesting feature is the side chapels, the ceilings of which are painted with very Moorish-looking designs. This church was one of the earliest to be constructed in Quito, which would put it right around the time that Spain was most influenced by its Moorish population.

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Get over the fact that this museum is named for the National Bank of Ecuador, and just GO. This museum is in Quito's new town, and forms one part of a large cultural complex. For two dollars, you get the run of one of the best museums I've seen in Latin America.

The collection is vast, and is divided into sections covering periods of Ecuador's history. The Archeological Court's collection dates from 12,000 BC to 1534 AD, the year that the Spanish invaded the region. We spent hours in this gallery, which is enormous and beautifully presented. The whole history of the region is depicted in text (English and Spanish) and graphics, accompanied by thousands of artifacts. The Golden Court, also containing pieces dating from the pre-colonial period, holds a dazzling array of gold objects from the various indigenous cultures that peopled this part of the world. The Colonial Art Court is devoted to crafts and religious decorative arts from the three centuries of Spanish rule, 1534-1820. Finally, the Republican Art Court contains paintings, sculptures, and other pieces from Ecuador's independence in 1820 to the middle of the 20th century.

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Address: Avenida Patria

This massive cathedral towers over Quito's old town and is a very impressive landmark, with its huge Gothic spires. Up close, however, the magic starts to fall away. The construction of this church began in the 1880s, and it was consecrated in 1985--but despite its newness, the shoddy construction is already crumbling. The contrast with the workmanship of Quito's colonial churches, some of which are nearly five hundred years old and going strong, is striking.

Still, the Basilica's 115-meter-high towers give a great view of the city. You can pay $2 to go up in the elevator to the top floor, after which you still have to climb a rather terrifying series of ladders and catwalks to get up to the west tower's lookout. The church itself, to our disappointment, is only open on weekends, so we didn't manage to see the inside.

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