Audio walk · Quito
Historic Centre (Centro Histórico)
Put your phone in your pocket and walk. Your phone reads each stop aloud, then waits while you walk to the next one; tap “I've arrived” to carry on. Everything it says is written out below, so the walk works without sound too.
- 4 stops
- about 6 min of listening
- about 14 min between stops
- Cluster guide
4 stops · about 6 min listening · about 14 min between stops
Before you start
Voice and speed
The script is in English. On-device voices keep working with no signal once this page is open or saved.
Transcript
Everything the tour says, in order. Read it instead of listening if you prefer.
Before you start
Welcome to the Historic Centre (Centro Histórico) audio walk in Quito. 4 stops: Plaza Grande (Plaza de la Independencia), La Compañía de Jesús, San Francisco church and plaza and Calle La Ronda. Morning cluster: plazas, La Compañía and San Francisco on steep, stepped streets; be out by early afternoon and take a car back after dark.
Plaza Grande and Calle García Moreno south to La Ronda, west to Plaza San Francisco: the core, not the whole UNESCO zone. Underfoot: cobbles, uneven; slope: steep; shade: low.
Quito is a colonial capital built on an Inca one, in a valley so high that the sky looks closer and the sun burns through cool air.
Before you start: Do not walk the side streets above La Ronda or the park edges after dark; take a car. Keep your eyes on the street, and pause the audio before you cross a road.
1. Plaza Grande (Plaza de la Independencia)
Plaza Grande
Look for
- Plaza and central fountain
- Presidential Palace exterior
- Metropolitan Cathedral
- Centro Cultural Metropolitano
- The palace balcony from the plaza centre
Stop 1 of 4: Plaza Grande (Plaza de la Independencia). Locally, Plaza Grande. Arrival point: Plaza Grande, Historic Centre.
The main square of the old town: half an hour in the morning, before the crowds and before the sun is strong. On a first visit: The starting point for the old town.
Look for Plaza and central fountain: The gathering place with the independence monument. Look for Presidential Palace exterior: Balcony and guards; interior only on guided visits. Look for Metropolitan Cathedral: Check the museum's hours and ticket. Look for Centro Cultural Metropolitano: Free museum and courtyards (check). For a photo: The palace balcony from the plaza centre, morning, sun behind you.
The main plazas are Plaza Grande, with the palace and cathedral, and Plaza San Francisco, with the largest church complex.
Watch bags and phones in the crowd. Quieter before 10:00; busiest around midday and at weekends. Allowed in the plaza; ask before photographing guards or officials.
Walk:Next, stop 2: La Compañía de Jesús. It's about 2 minutes on foot, about 100 metres to the south. Route: Walk from Plaza Grande (Plaza de la Independencia). The tour waits here. Tap I've arrived when you get there.
Plaza Grande (Plaza de la Independencia): hours, tickets and rules →
2. La Compañía de Jesús
Iglesia de la Compañía de Jesús
Look for
- Facade and entrance
- Nave with gilded altars
- Chapels and paintings
- Cloister and museum rooms
- The facade from the plaza
- The street outside
Stop 2 of 4: La Compañía de Jesús. Locally, Iglesia de la Compañía de Jesús. Arrival point: Calle García Moreno, Historic Centre.
The gilded Jesuit church a block from Plaza Grande: go in the morning; allow 45 minutes and dress for a church. On a first visit: The best interior in the old town.
Look for Facade and entrance: Carved volcanic-stone front. Look for Nave with gilded altars: Gold leaf on every wall and carved altarpieces. Look for Chapels and paintings: Quito School work; look for the side chapels. Look for Cloister and museum rooms: Check what is open. For a photo: The facade from the plaza, morning sun. For a photo: The street outside, any time.
La Compañía de Jesús is the most opulent.
Photography inside is banned; cover shoulders and knees. Queues build at midday; go early. Banned inside the church; a sign at the entrance says so.
Walk:Next, stop 3: San Francisco church and plaza. It's about 4 minutes on foot, about 250 metres to the east. Route: Walk from La Compañía de Jesús. The tour waits here. Tap I've arrived when you get there.
3. San Francisco church and plaza
Iglesia y Plaza de San Francisco
Look for
- Plaza San Francisco
- Church nave
- Convent museum
- Chapels
- The church facade from the plaza
- The plaza toward the Panecillo
- Convent courtyard
Stop 3 of 4: San Francisco church and plaza. Locally, Iglesia y Plaza de San Francisco. Arrival point: Plaza San Francisco, Historic Centre.
One of the oldest church complexes in the Americas, on a wide plaza: 30 minutes on the way to La Ronda. On a first visit: A classic old-town stop.
Look for Plaza San Francisco: Wide sloped plaza. Look for Church nave: Baroque altarpieces and carved wood. Look for Convent museum: Colonial art and cloister. Look for Chapels: Look for the side chapels. For a photo: The church facade from the plaza, morning. For a photo: The plaza toward the Panecillo, any time. For a photo: Convent courtyard, morning light.
Cover shoulders and knees inside; ask before photographing worshippers. Earlier in the day is quieter. Allowed in the plaza; ask about the church and museum. The complex includes the church, a convent and a museum; the church is the main visit.
Walk:Next, stop 4: Calle La Ronda. It's about 8 minutes on foot, about 200 metres to the north. The tour waits here. Tap I've arrived when you get there.
4. Calle La Ronda
Look for
- Craft workshops
- Cafés
- Small museums and cultural stops
Stop 4 of 4: Calle La Ronda. Arrival point: Calle Guayaquil or Calle Morales end, Historic Centre.
A narrow old street of small workshops and cafés: good for a late-morning coffee; not a street to walk alone after dark.
Look for Craft workshops: Ceramics, hats and gold work. Look for Cafés: Coffee, hot chocolate and canelazo. Look for Small museums and cultural stops: Check what is open.
Calle La Ronda, a narrow street of balconies and workshops, was restored in the early 2000s from a run-down lane into a craft and music street, and it now gives visitors a pocket version of the old town. What came out is now called the Quito School, an art tradition of the 16th to 18th centuries in which European forms carry Andean faces, plants and colours. On 31 December people build effigies of the old year, called años viejos, which are set on fire at midnight.
After dark, arrive and leave by car. Livelier in the evening, but take a car both ways. Allowed; ask before photographing shopkeepers and musicians.
End of the walk
That's the end of the Historic Centre (Centro Histórico) walk. To carry on, La Mariscal is about 20 minutes away (taxi or metro north). To carry on, Guápulo is about 20 minutes away (taxi north-east).
Built from this site's place pages, walking times and city deep dive; nothing is added that isn't on those pages. Opening hours, prices and rules change: check each place page before you go. Walking times are typical (median) and assume a steady pace.