Route of the churches. Just 5km from Go Quito Hotel
The chimes and the murmur of the people who come to his call will guide you along the Route of the Churches, a route that will dazzle you with the architectural beauty and will allow you to understand the historical, cultural and spiritual importance of the temples in the city of Quito. Just 5 km from Go Quito Hotel, you will find the Basilica of the National Vow, the largest representative of neo-Gothic architecture in the city of Quito and the largest temple in America in this architectural style. You will be able to see its façade and its towers, more than 80 meters high, some of the tallest in South America. From there you should head towards San Francisco, not without passing over the churches of Santa Bárbara and La Merced, important temples that rise above the streets of the Historic Center.
The flutter of pigeons, conversations and the noise of the city greet visitors to the Plaza de San Francisco. Its homonymous church, whose construction began in the 16th century and took more than 150 years to complete, mixes several architectural styles and hosts varied stories from Quito folklore. On the Main Altar of this church you can see the famous Virgin of Legarda, a sculpture by the mestizo artist Bernardo de Legarda that shows a winged virgin, one of the largest pieces of the famous “Quito school” and one of the works of art most important in Latin America. The so-called “Chapel of Cantuña”, one of the side chapels of the Convent of San Francisco, is the protagonist of one of the most famous legends of Quito: the legend of Cantuña, a myth that explains the creation and construction of this church. You can hear the story while experiencing Quito life in the plaza or enjoy Quito’s first brewery, also located in the San Francisco religious complex.
Nearby is another of the representative temples of the city of Quito: The so-called “Church of the Company.” This church, built by the Jesuits, is, without a doubt, the greatest exponent of Quito baroque and one of the most important constructions in Latin America. This temple is famous for its altarpiece and its interior walls, all covered with sheets of “gold leaf”; and for its façade, built in stone and considered one of the greatest exponents of baroque architecture in the world. Walking through the interior of “La Compañía” will make you understand its importance: there is no visitor who is not dazzled and moved by the brilliance of the gold, by its paintings, by its murals and by the details on the walls, the floor, columns.
Nearby are other important temples, such as the convent of San Agustín and the Church of the Sagrario. You decide what to visit and what corners to discover: in the historic center of Quito there are about 60 churches and chapels distributed throughout its streets and squares, each with its charm and its particular stories.