Mountains Of Travel Photos
Home | Quito Main | Quito References | Contact 

Quito Ecuador Photo Gallery - Old Quito, including Plaza Grande, El Panecillo, El Sagrario, La Compania de Jesus, and Plaza de San Francisco

In August 2007 we traveled to Quito, Ecuador, Cotopaxi and Chimborazo, and the Galapagos Islands

Ecuador Quito 01-01 Old Quito From Airplane We returned to Quito from the Galapagos Islands. Here is a view of old Quito from the airplane.

Ecuador Quito 01-01 Old Quito From Airplane

Ecuador Quito 01-02 Old Quito Hotel Patio Anduluz Outside We stayed at the Hotel Patio Andaluz in a 16C remodeled building in Old Quito just a minute from Plaza Grande.

Ecuador Quito 01-02 Old Quito Hotel Patio Anduluz Outside

Ecuador Quito 01-03 Old Quito Hotel Patio Anduluz We had a beautiful two-story room with hard wood floors and vaulted ceilings at the traditional colonial style Hotel Patio Andaluz in Old Quito. The halls had bean bags, hammocks and chess tables. We had a free welcome drink at the lower bar.

Ecuador Quito 01-03 Old Quito Hotel Patio Anduluz

Ecuador Quito 01-04 Old Quito Hotel Patio Anduluz Courtyard We ate some of our meals at the El Rincon de Cantuna restaurant at the Hotel Patio Andaluz in Old Quito, beautifully situated in an open courtyard with a large skylight.

Ecuador Quito 01-04 Old Quito Hotel Patio Anduluz Courtyard

Ecuador Quito 02-01 Old Quito Plaza Grande The Plaza Grande, also known as Plaza de la Independencia, is the central square at the heart of Old Colonial Quito. It was laid out in 1534 and still preserves its original dimensions. The square is surrounded by the Cathedral, the Presidential Palace, the Archbishop's Palace, and the City Hall.

Ecuador Quito 02-01 Old Quito Plaza Grande

Ecuador Quito 02-02 Old Quito Plaza Grande Liberty Statue In the centre of Quito’s Plaza Grande is a liberty statue commemorating August 10, 1809 when Ecuador declared independence from Spain. However, this initial movement was ultimately defeated, but on May 24, 1822 victory was achieve and marked the independence of Quito and the surrounding areas.

Ecuador Quito 02-02 Old Quito Plaza Grande Liberty Statue

Ecuador Quito 02-03 Old Quito Plaza Grande Cathedral and Virgin On El Panecillo Here is a view from Quito’s Plaza Grande of El Panecillo on the hill on the left with its statue of the Virgin Mary, the Cathedral, and the Liberty Statue on the right.

Ecuador Quito 02-03 Old Quito Plaza Grande Cathedral and Virgin On El Panecillo

Ecuador Quito 02-04 Old Quito Plaza Grande Cathedral Built between 1550 and 1562, the Cathedral with its gleaming white walls borders one side of the Plaza Grande. We took a free glance at the interior of the Cathedral in the early morning, but it was not too impressive, so we didn’t take an official visit. The Cathedral does include the ornate tomb of Mariscal Sucre, Antonio Jose de Sucre (1795 – 1830), a hero of Ecuadorian and Latin American independence.

Ecuador Quito 02-04 Old Quito Plaza Grande Cathedral

Ecuador Quito 02-05 Old Quito Plaza Grande Presidential Palace The white symmetrical building with a long row of columns at the Plaza Grande with the national flag flying is the Presidential Palace. The third floor of the palace is used as the President's private quarters where he lives along with his family.

Ecuador Quito 02-05 Old Quito Plaza Grande Presidential Palace

Ecuador Quito 02-06 Old Quito Plaza Grande Presidential Palace And El Panecillo Here is a view of El Panecillo with its statue of the Virgin Mary taken from the Presidential Palace at Plaza Grande in Old Quito.

Ecuador Quito 02-06 Old Quito Plaza Grande Presidential Palace And El Panecillo

Ecuador Quito 02-07 Old Quito Plaza Grande Archbishops Palace The Archbishop's Palace was built in 1852 and was once home to the Archbishop. This renovated building is home to a variety of shops and restaurants.

Ecuador Quito 02-07 Old Quito Plaza Grande Archbishops Palace

Ecuador Quito 02-08 Old Quito Plaza Grande City Hall And Basilica The City Hall on the far right was built in 1952 and has a low horizontal design and white walls. Up the street is the Basílica del Voto Nacional, the tallest church in Ecuador with its twin 115m towers.

Ecuador Quito 02-08 Old Quito Plaza Grande City Hall And Basilica

Ecuador Quito 02-09 Old Quito Plaza Grande Archbishops Palace At Night The Plaza Grande in Old Quito is very beautiful when all the buildings are lit up after dark. Here is a nighttime view of the Archbishop's Palace.

Ecuador Quito 02-09 Old Quito Plaza Grande Archbishops Palace At Night

Ecuador Quito 02-10 Old Quito Plaza Grande Cathedral and Presidential Palace At Night The Plaza Grande in Old Quito is very beautiful when all the buildings are lit up after dark. Here is a nighttime view of the Cathedral and Presidential Palace.

Ecuador Quito 02-10 Old Quito Plaza Grande Cathedral and Presidential Palace At Night

Ecuador Quito 03-01 Old Quito El Sagrario Entrance At Night Just around the corner from the Cathedral topped with a pale blue dome is El Sagrario, originally built between 1706 and 1747 as a cathedral chapel. The stone facade has ornamented Salomon columns, here lit up just after dark.

Ecuador Quito 03-01 Old Quito El Sagrario Entrance At Night

Ecuador Quito 03-02 Old Quito El Sagrario Door The second door of El Sagrario was constructed by the famous artist Bernardo de Legarda (1700–1773) and painted with liquid gold leaf in a highly ornamental style.

Ecuador Quito 03-02 Old Quito El Sagrario Door

Ecuador Quito 03-03 Old Quito El Sagrario Altar Here is a view of the interior of El Segrario, including the altar.

Ecuador Quito 03-03 Old Quito El Sagrario Altar

Ecuador Quito 03-04 Old Quito El Sagrario Dome Inside El Sagrario in Old Quito has a superb dome covered with frescos representing biblical scenes with archangels.

Ecuador Quito 03-04 Old Quito El Sagrario Dome Inside

Ecuador Quito 04-01 Old Quito La Compania de Jesus Outside La Compania de Jesus is often called the most beautiful church in Ecuador. The outside is of carved volcanic stone and is crammed with twisted columns, full-size statues, busts, sculpted hearts, and leaves.

Ecuador Quito 04-01 Old Quito La Compania de Jesus Outside

Ecuador Quito 04-02 Old Quito La Compania de Jesus Door Outside Here is the second door at the main entrance of La Compania de Jesus.

Ecuador Quito 04-02 Old Quito La Compania de Jesus Door Outside

Ecuador Quito 04-03 Old Quito La Compania de Jesus Statue Above Door Outside Here is the statue above the second door at the main entrance of La Compania de Jesus.

Ecuador Quito 04-03 Old Quito La Compania de Jesus Statue Above Door Outside

Ecuador Quito 04-04 Old Quito La Compana de Jesus Gold Altar Seven tons of gold supposedly ended up on the ceiling, walls, and altars of La Compania de Jesus, which was built by the Jesuits between 1605 and 1650. The Church of The Compania of Jesus in Quito has been catalogued by UNESCO among the hundred most important World Heritage Site Monuments in the world.

Ecuador Quito 04-04 Old Quito La Compana de Jesus Gold Altar

Ecuador Quito 04-05 Old Quito La Compana de Jesus Gold Ceiling and Dome Here is a photo of the gold-encrusted ceiling and dome of La Compania de Jesus church in Old Quito.

Ecuador Quito 04-05 Old Quito La Compana de Jesus Gold Ceiling and Dome

Ecuador Quito 05-01 Old Quito Colourful Guitarist As we walked down the street a colourful guitarist was singing a beautiful Spanish song.

Ecuador Quito 05-01 Old Quito Colourful Guitarist

Ecuador Quito 05-02 Old Quito Plaza San Francisco The Plaza de San Francisco is a vast cobblestone plaza dominated by the long whitewashed walls and twin bell towers of Ecuador’s oldest church, the Monastery of San Francisco.

Ecuador Quito 05-02 Old Quito Plaza San Francisco

Ecuador Quito 05-03 Old Quito Monastery of San Francisco The Monastery of San Francisco was the first church built in Quito with construction beginning in January 1535, just a few months after the Spanish arrived, and completed in 1605.

Ecuador Quito 05-03 Old Quito Monastery of San Francisco

Ecuador Quito 05-04 Old Quito Monastery of San Francisco At Night Here is a nighttime photo of the twin bell towers of the Monastery of San Francisco.

Ecuador Quito 05-04 Old Quito Monastery of San Francisco At Night

Ecuador Quito 05-05 Old Quito Santo Domingo At Night The Iglesia Santo Domingo was built by Dominican friars during the 16-17C and is especially beautiful when lit at night.

Ecuador Quito 05-05 Old Quito Santo Domingo At Night

Ecuador Quito 06-01 Old Quito El Panecillo And Virgin Mary El Panecillo (small bread roll, 3016m) is a 200m hill separating south and Old Quito, topped by a 41m monument to the Virgin Mary.

Ecuador Quito 06-01 Old Quito El Panecillo And Virgin Mary

Ecuador Quito 06-02 Old Quito El Panecillo And Virgin Mary Close Up On the top of El Panecillo is a 30m statue of the Virgin Mary, inaugurated in 1975 and made of 7000 pieces of aluminum.

Ecuador Quito 06-02 Old Quito El Panecillo And Virgin Mary Close Up

Ecuador Quito 06-03 Old Quito Virgin Mary Close Up On El Panecillo The Virgin Mary stands on top of a globe, stepping on a snake. Strangely she has wings like an angel. This statue was based on a sculpture made by Bernardo de Legarda in 1734, the famous

Ecuador Quito 06-03 Old Quito Virgin Mary Close Up On El Panecillo

Ecuador Quito 06-04 Old Quito View From El Panecillo At El Panecillo we climbed the steps up the small tower on which the Virgin is standing to a viewing platform, with a spectacular view of Old Quito stretching away to the distance.

Ecuador Quito 06-04 Old Quito View From El Panecillo

Ecuador Quito 06-05 Old Quito La Cima de la Libertad From El Panecillo From El Panecillo, we had a good view of La Cima de la Libertad, built on the flanks of Volcan Pichincha at the site of a decisive battle for independence on May 24, 1822.

Ecuador Quito 06-05 Old Quito La Cima de la Libertad From El Panecillo

Ecuador Quito 07-01 Charlotte Ryan and Jerome Ryan At Cafe Mosaico In Old Quito Charlotte Ryan and Jerome Ryan had dinner at Cafe Mosaico in an old house high up on a hill overlooking Old Quito. We arrived at 17:00 and snagged the last table next to the railing.

Ecuador Quito 07-01 Charlotte Ryan and Jerome Ryan At Cafe Mosaico In Old Quito

Ecuador Quito 07-02 Old Quito Cafe Mosaico View Of El Panecillo And Old Quito The view from Cafe Mosaico is excellent. Here is a view of Old Quito and El Panecillo just before dusk.

Ecuador Quito 07-02 Old Quito Cafe Mosaico View Of El Panecillo And Old Quito

Ecuador Quito 07-03 Old Quito Cafe Mosaico View Of Old Quito And The Basilica The view from Cafe Mosaico is excellent. Here is a view of Old Quito looking across the valley with the twin towers of the Basílica del Voto Nacional on the far right.

Ecuador Quito 07-03 Old Quito Cafe Mosaico View Of Old Quito And The Basilica

Ecuador Quito 07-04 Old Quito Cafe Mosaico Sunset View Of El Panecillo From Cafe Mosaico just after sunset, the clouds lit up beautifully in the evening sky with Old Quito and El Panecillo below.

Ecuador Quito 07-04 Old Quito Cafe Mosaico Sunset View Of El Panecillo

Ecuador Quito 07-05 Old Quito Cafe Mosaico Sunset View Of El Panecillo And Old Quito From Cafe Mosaico the lights of Old Quito came on, with this view of Old Quito and El Panecillo.

Ecuador Quito 07-05 Old Quito Cafe Mosaico Sunset View Of El Panecillo And Old Quito

Ecuador Quito 07-06 Old Quito Cafe Mosaico Sunset View Of El Panecillo And Virgin Mary Here is a close up of El Panecillo and the Virgin Mary statue from Cafe Mosaico just after sunset.

Ecuador Quito 07-06 Old Quito Cafe Mosaico Sunset View Of El Panecillo And Virgin Mary

Ecuador Quito 07-07 Old Quito Cafe Mosaico Sunset View Of Plaza Grande and San Francisco From Cafe Mosaico the lights of Old Quito came on, with this view of the Plaza Grande and the Monastery of San Francisco.

Ecuador Quito 07-07 Old Quito Cafe Mosaico Sunset View Of Plaza Grande and San Francisco

Ecuador Quito 07-08 Old Quito Cafe Mosaico Sunset View Of Basilica del Voto Nacional From Cafe Mosaico the lights of Old Quito came on, with this close up view of the Basílica del Voto Nacional, the tallest church in Ecuador with its twin 115m towers, modeled after the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris.

Ecuador Quito 07-08 Old Quito Cafe Mosaico Sunset View Of Basilica del Voto Nacional


This album has 41 items in total    |    Album was updated 2009-05-15 04:59    |    Generated by Jalbum 8.0, custom skin ExhibitPlus 1.5