Climb the Basilica
There are not many churches that you can climb, and even fewer that have a view as good as this one. Basilica del Voto Nacional is one of the most famous churches in all of Ecuador, and for good reason. Not only is the church beautiful and well built, but it can be climbed. Visitors can go upstairs and then walk across the celling to get outside by one of the towers, from there you can climb up "stairs" to go even higher. The stairs are so steep they are pretty much a glorified ladder. From the very top is a 360 view of the area.
This is not for people afraid of heights as you don't go super high, but rather the steepness of the climb is intimidating. The church is also on the top of a hill with great over looks of the city making the climb well worth the work. After the climb it would be a clever idea to still look at the rest of the church as it is incredibly beautiful on its own.
The Pope had visited the church when he was in Quito. So, if its good enough for the Pope its good enough for any one.
Cuidad Mitad del Mundo
City of the middle of the Earth in English. This is a quick trip from city center going north. The Equator, what Ecuador was named after. There is a small "city" that is designed to show case the equator and the monument that was built on it. The site has many shops and restaurants, but the highlights is the equator and the monument. The site also has history about the people who discovered the site of the equator, built the Mitad del Mundo, and Ecuadorian scientist.
Outside of Mitad del Mundo there is not much to see or do, other than the UNISUR headquarters. But it is well worth a trip out to see the equator and get a picture on it.
La Capill del Hombre
Or in English the chapel of man. This is two different exhibits both by Oswaldo Guaysamin, a famous Ecuadorian painter and activist. the first exhibit you will go into is his house before he passed away. His house is filled with famous art works from Europe, native South Americans, and his own. He was a lover of all art and it showed in his house with a wide range of art works. In his house you can also find his studio where he did his work. I highly recommend getting a tour guide there. They know so much and can answer all your question. I am not the biggest into art but with the knowledge from the tour guide I learned to apricate both exhibits and they were one of my favorite things in Quito.
Because it is an art gallery you are not allowed to take many pictures, that why I don't have many good pictures. After the house you get to go in the exhibit he was creating when he passed away. This exhibit has many of is most famous paintings and the tour guild will explain what they all mean. Guaysimin often would pain to depict the struggle of the South American human and family. Often focusing in on the native people. These paintings are very moving and help explain South Americas history as well as what makes them who they are. Like I said I am not really a huge fan of art but these exhibits truly surprised me with how much I actually enjoyed them. Recommend this to everyone even people who don’t like art galleries.
