Quito was also the first city declared by UNESCO as the humanity's cultural patrimony. Its historical centre has been founded by the conquerors in 1534, and nowadays it is a live museum of the great Spanish style and colonial architecture.

Mansions, cathedrals, churches and numerous squares are demonstrations of traditional art, well-known as "Escuela Quiteña", reason why Quito is also called as the Florence of America. City is divided in three administrative parts or geographical areas: North, Centre and South.

North represents the modern city, full of architectural pearls, and here you meet most of administrative headquarters, business centers and big avenues with hotels and restaurants. City center occupies the historical part, with alleys, squares, monuments and museums.

South is the area that expands most quickly and it is considered to be residential part for the labour class without major tourist significance. One of the important sights is the hill of "Panecillo", with a virgin's statue in the top, from where is possible to observe large part of the city.

Another of the attractions is the cable car that ascends to one of the peaks of Pichincha volcano, up to a height of 4200 meters, and offers a spectacular view of snowy volcanoes that surrounds the city. A few kilometres to the north of the city is situated a place called Mitad del Mundo, known by the citadel with the monument that divides the terrestrial globe in two hemispheres. It has been founded in the 17th century by a French geodesic expedition, which defined the exact location of the Equatorial line.

There are some points of interest as the ethnological museum or imitation of colonial village where many folkloric groups from the whole country are presented in order to show local traditions.

The nightlife of Quito takes place in the neighborhood called "La Mariscal", among the streets Reina Victoria, Amazonas, José Calama and Wilson. In this area are most of the bars, inns, cyber nets, restaurants and clubs with all kind of music.