Quito's Historic Centre is one of the best-preserved colonial cities in the Americas and the reason most travellers come here. Start with the Plaza Grande, the main square, and work outward through the extraordinary concentration of churches, convents, and plazas that UNESCO designated a World Heritage Site in 1978. The Church of La Compañía is the most dazzling interior in the city; the Basilica and Convent of San Francisco is the largest and most impressive colonial complex. Up on the hill, the Basílica del Voto Nacional offers the best views in the city and a genuinely vertiginous tower climb.
Beyond the Historic Centre, the El Panecillo volcanic hill with its giant aluminium Virgin statue provides panoramic views, and the Teleférico cable car rides up to the flanks of Pichincha volcano for even more dramatic perspectives. For museums, the Casa del Alabado has the finest pre-Columbian collection in the country.
The Centro Histórico neighbourhood and the modern La Mariscal district each have their own character and are worth exploring separately.