Quito - description of the city:
Quito is the capital of Ecuador, located 24 km south of the equator, on the southern slope of the volcano Pichincha, at an altitude of 2818 m above sea level. In the pre-Columbian era this territory was the city of the Quito Indians, which was part of the Inca Empire. The city was destroyed during the Spanish conquest, and then re-founded in 1534 by a conquistador Sebastian de Belalcazar. Until 18th century, Quito was part of the Viceroyalty of Peru, then – of the Viceroyalty of New Granada. In 1822-1830, Quito was the center of the southern department of Gran Colombia. Since 1830, it became the capital of an independent Ecuador.
The city is home to 1.25 million inhabitants. Pan-American Highway connects Quito with Bogota and Lima. There is an airport. Main industries include food-processing, textile, footwear, furniture, chemical and pharmaceutical industries. Among domestic crafts the most famous is the fabrication of straw hats and jewelry.
Quito is known for the Ecuador's Academy of Sciences, the Ecuadorean Academy of Medicine, the Central University of Ecuador, the Catholic University of Ecuador, the National Institute of Technology, the National Conservatory, the National School of Fine Arts, and the Latin American center of journalists’ training. Museums consist of the Museum of Colonial Art, the City Museum of Art and History, the Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography, the Museum of Anthropology "Antonio Santiana", and the Museum of the Central University. Since 1873, an astronomical observatory is open in Quito.
In the central part of Quito remained narrow winding streets, full of buildings in Baroque and Plateresque styles, with abundant carvings, gildings and painted wood sculptures. New high-rise buildings grow in the northern part of the city.
| Country |
Ecuador
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| International title |
Quito |
| Population |
1,399,814 people |
| Timezone |
America/Guayaquil |
| State |
Provincia de Pichincha |
| Geographic coordinates |
Latitude: -0.22985 x Longitude: -78.52495 |
Photo Galery Quito
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#01: The main attractions of Quito |
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#07: Spending days in Quito |
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#09: Places to visit in Quito |
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#11: Famous Landmarks of Quito |
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Quito video guide
Places to visit in Quito
- Basílica del Voto Nacional
- Church of the Society of Jesus
- Carondelet Palace
- Quito Astronomical Observatory
- Museo de Arte Colonial
- Plaza de la Independencia
- Museo Camilo Egas
- Museo de la Ciudad
- Casa Museo María Augusta Urrutía
- Casa de la Cultura Ecuatoriana
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Famous Places
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Maison Tavel
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Maison Tavel Introduction
Maison Tavel is the oldest private building in the city of Geneva, and it is a wonderful testimony of the civil architecture of the medieval period.
Maison Tavel offers a nice testimony of civil architecture from the med ...
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Zunfthaus zur Meisen
Country: Switzerland
Zunfthaus zur Meisen
The Zunfthaus zur Meisen is located in Fraumunster abbey square, also referred to as Munsterhof. It is a guild house. It is a historically valuable structure in Zurich’s Lindenhof quarter, and it is where the faience and ...
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Appenzell
Country: Switzerland
Appenzell Introduction
Appenzell is a historical canton in the northeastern part of Switzerland, and it is completely surrounded by the St. Gallen Canton. It is a distinct region. It is also referred to as Appenzellerland.
Appenzell got its ...
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Waidhofen an der Ybbs
Country: Austria
In the 16th century, this charming little town in the Ybbs valley was an important centre of iron processing and arms production. Its medieval old town is dominated by church spires and two towers, remains of the medieval fortifications: the 13thce ...
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Gamlebyen
Country: Norway
During the middle ages the city of Oslo had its center in Gamlebyen. This area is often called Old Town. From around the 12th century through 1624, when a great fire destroyed the area, almost all of the development of the Old Town area was between ...
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