Basilica

Basilica

Basilica is a high MUST. Old Town is part of Quito sightseeing and you can't miss the 35m high Basel. This huge Gothic church is huge! 150m long x 35m wide. It's located on a hill, northwest from the main square. You can climb the towers and get an amazing view of the whole city. Don't be afraid of all the stairs you have to climb. There's also an elevator, hahaha. Although you take the elevator, you'd need to climb some stairs at the top in order to reach the very very top. The whole architecture of the Basel is impressive. Well Gothic architecture is that way. There's a courtyard where you can find some stairs going down. There are catacombs under the Basel and former presidents of Ecuador were buried there. Take a close look at the gargoyles. Instead of the regular ones, you'll find iguanas, turtles and lamas. When I was there, it was a gorgeous and sunny day, but even though it can get a bit windy, specially at the top in the afternoon.

If you are sightseeing around Old Town. I'd suggest to visit the Basilica first. Since it's on a hill, it would be easier to walk down later, hehe. The bad thing is that the other churches you'd see later wouldn't be as pretty as the Basilica :) We headed out to “old town Quito” our first stop was the: The Basilica del Voto Nacional , or simply ‘the Basilica’. Consecrated in 1988 (though still technically unfinished) the church stands on a steep hill to the northeast of the old town and can be seen from almost everywhere in the city, particularly at night when it is illuminated Mourners dressed in black and in dark suits, taking cover under umbrellas, are entering the church where Sen. Edward M. Kennedy will be remembered this morning. President Obama, who arrived in Boston on Friday night, left his hotel early today, dressed in a dark suit and overcoat, to walk across the street to the Fairmont Copley Plaza for a 10-minute private visit with Kennedy’s widow, Victoria Reggie Kennedy.