Quito in one day for sight seeing? We were truly in amazement at the sights we saw!
There are so many things to see in Quito in one day! You may need a guide to squeeze this all in but if your time is short – it is so worth it in the end.
Here is a brief breakdown on what you can see on a well orchestrated one day of sight seeing in Quito!
Virgin Maria of Panecillo
The Virgin Maria of Panecillo statute, also known as the Virgin of Quito, was our first stop on this particular day. Built on El Panecillo hill, a 636 ft high hill in Centro Quito, the Virgin stands 135 ft tall & is the tallest aluminum statute in the world, consisting of 7,000+ pieces! For more history, check this out. Although the Virgin Maria from the Church of St. Francis was his inspiration, the artist decided to add wings making the statute unique in its own right.
Cathedrals in Quito!
I truly believe it would have been impossible for us to view ALL the Cathedrals in Quito in the five weeks we were there! Here are a few pics of our favorites of the beautiful cathedrals we viewed in one day. A lot of these, if not all, were built in the mid 1500s! Gorgeous intricate Spanish designs – some with Moorish or Gothic architecture – just beautiful!
Quito’s Gothic Cathedrals – Santa Teresita & Basilica del Voto Nacional complete with animal gargoyles!
These are the two Gothic cathedrals in Quito! Of the second, Basilica Voto, it is believed that if this neo gothic cathedral were ever ‘officially completed’ that the world would come to an end?
Cathedral Metropolitan de Quito & El Sagrario Chapel
This amazing cathedral has two entrances – one facing the Plaza de Independence Center & the other under the bell tower.
Iglesia de San Francisco Church
The Iglesia de San Francisco is the oldest religious site in Ecuador. This was probably one of our favorites among the cathedrals. Don’t get me wrong, the Cathdrals are works of art & we could have spent a day in each just soaking up all the artwork & architecture! This is the cathedral that influenced the creation of Virgin Maria above. She is the middle of the photo.
Miscellaneous Photos of our day trip to Quito. Amazing what you can see in one day!
Chocolate Tasting
Ecuador exported over in value over $81+ million in chocolate commodities in 2021! Cocoa production in 2021 reached over 320 thousand tons in one year! We probably ate our weight in chocolate in Ecuador with all the amazing flavors. Yes, it is that good.
Quito views
Kindness of the Ecuadorians
If you can’t tell by the huge smiles on our faces above, Ecuador was a wonderful experience for us. These photos in this blog can’t begin to tell you all the fabulous sights that we saw – simply in taking a walk! We met some awesome & forever friends while here in Quito.
Angie & Jessica from the La Gran Colombia Bakery & restaurant who were so kind to us as we attempted to navigate the Spanish language, Colombian style!
Alejandro from Tattoo & Piercing – no matter where we would see Alejandro he always met us with a big smile & happy “OLA Amigos!’ A genuinely nice guy who made a huge impact on us. Check out his premier video here –
Wonderful memories of this country. Definitely could be a spot on our ‘We could live here!” list!
¡Hasta la próxima, buena salud y felicidad para ti y los tuyos! Always, Travels With The Big Guy!
