Quito Travel Guide

Photograph by Paul Souders, Getty Images
Why It's Worth It

Perched sky-high in the Andes at the foot of the snow-capped Pichincha volcano, Quito is—quite literally—breathtaking. Thanks to one of the largest and best-preserved colonial cores in Latin America, Ecuador's capital was named the very first UNESCO World Heritage site. The city's dramatic setting squeezed between mountain peaks and straddling two hemispheres has always lured visitors, but its best-kept secrets are hidden in the narrow cobblestone streets, candlelit monasteries, and leafy plazas that reveal themselves when the mist clears. —Eliot Stein

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Best of the World: Quito
Best of the World: Quito
Best of the World: Quito
Some people may be surprised to see Quito in Traveler’s epic year-end Best of the World feature. The Spanish colonial UNESCO World Heritage site often gets short shrift, with many travelers treating the city as a stopover en route to the Galapagos, but Quito deserves main-event status. Here’s why.