Quito

A volcanic hill crowned by a 41-metre aluminium statue of the Virgin of Quito, offering a sweeping panorama of the city sprawled through its Andean valley below.

A 17th-century Jesuit church whose interior is encrusted with seven tonnes of gold leaf across ornate altarpieces, making it one of the most lavishly decorated baroque interiors in the Americas.

The monument and surrounding village complex marking the GPS-confirmed equatorial line, where you can stand with one foot in each hemisphere and tour exhibits on Ecuadorian indigenous cultures.

The country's largest museum, housing an extensive collection of pre-Columbian gold artifacts, colonial paintings, and archaeological ceramics tracing 10,000 years of Ecuadorian civilisation.

A hilltop park with a restored 19th-century crystal palace event hall and unobstructed views over the historic centre that most tourists miss entirely.

A bustling downtown market where locals line up at no-frills counters for bowls of seco de pollo and fresh ceviche de concha at prices that haven't changed with tourism.

Oswaldo Guayasamín's self-designed final museum and monument to Latin American suffering, filled with monumental canvases that feel urgent and raw rather than archival.

A cable car that whisks you from the city edge up to 4,050 metres on the flanks of Volcán Pichincha, where trails lead through páramo grassland with condors occasionally circling overhead.

Chef Alejandro Chamorro's intimate tasting-menu restaurant in La Floresta that reimagines Ecuadorian highland ingredients — tree tomato, black corn, Andean herbs — with precise, contemporary technique.

A Quito institution in Quito's financial district serving refined takes on Ecuadorian coastal and highland cuisine, with an exceptional raw bar and one of the best wine lists in the city.

A farm-to-table restaurant in La Floresta neighbourhood whose changing menu is built entirely around ingredients sourced from small Ecuadorian producers, farmers, and fishermen.

Perched atop the Casa Gangotena boutique hotel with views over Plaza San Francisco, it serves elevated colonial-era recipes reconstructed from historical sources alongside modern Andean dishes.

Quito's most respected craft brewery, pouring rotating IPAs, stouts, and experimental ales brewed on-site in a lively taproom popular with expats and local beer enthusiasts alike.

A long-standing Mariscal Sucre institution with proper draft pints, pub grub, and a reliably mixed crowd of travellers and Quiteños watching international football on multiple screens.

A no-pretence Mariscal bar with cheap local beer, loud rock on the sound system, and a darkly decorated interior that draws a faithful crowd of regulars from early evening.

A salsa-focused venue in the historic centre where live bands play Cuban son and Colombian cumbia and the dance floor fills with couples who actually know what they're doing.

Housed inside the restored National Theatre building on Plaza del Teatro, this bar and event space hosts jazz nights, DJ sets, and cultural performances in a dramatically beautiful historic interior.

A late-night Mariscal staple with live rock and indie bands performing on weekends and a loyal local following that keeps the place packed well past midnight.