In Quito:
1 - Visit the Centro Historico with its colonial architecture & churches
The typical Spanish colonial architecture abounds in Quito old town or Centro Historico. Plaza Grande where the president's house overlooks the square is typical.
There are numerous squares like this - each dominated by one large church, e.g Santa Domingo, San Francisco.
In addition there are lots of museums - if you only have time for one I suggest the Museo Nacional de Banco Central de Ecuador - however you need about 4 hours in total to fully see this and a guided tour is worthwhile.
Cost: usually no entrance fees to enter the churches, some will suggest donations or charge a couple of dollars. Museums can be free or a few dollars e.g. $2 for entry for the Museo Nacional de Banco Central
Location: Centro Historico - take the Trole for 25c to Plaza Santa Domingo or Plaza Grande
2 - Climb to the top of La Basilica
You can climb right above the roof of La Basilica if you have the stomach for it! As well as stairs up the main towers there is a staircase little more than a metal ladder that goes above the roof of the church - watch out its windy up there!
The Basilica has a quirk that you can see up close from the towers / roof; it's gargoyles are actually all animals from the Galapagos, from frigate birds to turtles and iguanas!
Cost: $2 to ascend, $1.5 to enter the main body of the church as a visitor
Location: Walk north of the centro Historico - you can't miss it!
3 - Look over the city from El Panecillo
El Panecilo is the hill in the middle of Quito with the Virgin statue at the top. She looks North and stands on a dragon on top of the world. According I my Spanish teacher this is meant to signify that Quito is the centre of the world (on / near the equator) and that the Virgin is protecting the city from the devil (dragon). Apparently it was built after a series of earthquakes to keep the city safe.
From the top of the hill I could see where I was staying in the South in barrio Villa Flora as well as the centro Historico and the Basilica. As Quito is penned in by mountains the city's southern suburbs seemed to flow up the curve of the mountain like a glacier in reverse - a stunning view point all round!
Cost: Nothing to go up the hill, but I would advise taking a cab as the area isn't safe on foot
Location: South of the Centro Historico - you can see it from most central locations north and south
4 - Ride up the teleferico & go horse riding
The teleferico is Quito's cable car that ascends up the mountain Pichincha for panoramique views of the city (as long as the infamous clouds stay away!). The altitude at the top of Pichincha is 4,000m so this isn't recommended until you've had a few days in Quito to acclimatise at 2,800m.
At the top there a few options - if you are feeling fit then you can hike up to the top of Pichincha at 4,800m. For those feeling out of breath there is the option of horse back riding for a half or full hour - they even dress you up in ponchos for 'traditional' photos!
Unfortunately I was ill the day everyone else went up - so no pictures of me in the poncho!
Costs: $7.5 for foreigners, plus you'll probably need a taxi there - get the driver to drop you off outside the gate to avoid additional fees for the driver (which he'll charge straight back at ya)
Not sure on the horse riding costs - but like everything in Ecuador you can bargain!
Location: North East of the centre - there are buses that go that way, but taxi is easiest
5 - Shop til you drop at the artesenal market
Now this is an activity I felt comfortable enough to indulge in twice! The artesenal market has loads of Ecuadorian things to buy making it an ideal place to go gift shopping. Without wanting to give anything away before I get home, I managed to buy an amazing alpaca blanket (with llamas on it), a table cloth (no llamas there), dolls in traditional dress, children's clothing and chocolate - yum!
The key thing is that you can bargain - so ask for a discount or start walking away until you get a price you like (but remember that quibbling over a dollar isn't worth it - the stall holders earn a lot less than you!)
Costs: as much as you want to spend, entering the market is free
Location: Mariscal aka Gringolandia - Trole station La Mariscal, Meera street.
Outside Quito:
6 - Visit the middle of the world at Mitad del Mundo
Quito is practically on the equator (but not quite) so you can visit the actual equator just north of the city - otherwise called the Mitad del Mundo or middle of the world.
If you take public transport be prepared to take 1.5 hours upwards depending on where in the city you start from, however this is the cheapest option - the round trip cost me only $1.4!
When you arrive at the park with the equator monument there is a whole village of shops and cafés and few museums etc to look at. We bypassed this to head straight to the equator line and get silly photos:
We then had some lunch before deciding to enter the monument and get the views from the top as well as seeing the museum about the indigenous people of Ecuador.
There is also meant to be an area where they show you 'science experiments' to demonstrate the coriolis force amongst other things. We went on a Monday and it wasn't very busy so we didn't see this - which is good as it's a load of b*llocks anyway (coriolis force is weakest at the equator and you can only see its effect on large slow moving things like storms).
Costs: $3 to enter the park with the monument, $3 to enter the actual monument (and museum inside)
Location: North of Quito - take the metrobus line to the north terminal Ofelia and then a Mitad del Mundo bus or there is another bus that goes from El Panecillo and back, fares are around 25-40c.
7 - Have a day trip to Otavalo for the markets & scenery
Otavalo is about 2 hours north of Quito and set in some lovely scenery. There are waterfalls and lakes to explore and you can see lots of birds including its namesake in the Condor park.
However the main reason people visit Otavalo is for the market. This is huge on Saturdays when the local people bring their animals and the usual stalls around the square spill out into the surrounding streets. It's meant to be the largest indigenous market in Ecuador.
So it's super busy Saturday mornings, but I've heard you get better bargains on other days as there are less tourists to sell to - again I haven't visited in person but people tell me it has similar things to the market in Mariscal.
Costs: as much as you want to spend! About $2 bus fare from the north bus station (Carcelen), taxi transfer costs and if you don't want to get up early Saturday then around $10-12 for a hostel in Otavalo.
Location: 2-2.5 hours north of Quito - bus from the north station Carcelen
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