Neighborhoods in Quito

[WAYNE BUSTLE]

My wife and I were at the recent Ecuador IL event in Quito.  We have not received the notes from the conference yet, however we are planning our next trip to Quito.  We will be spending over two weeks there and have a lot to accomplish.  One of those is exploring the neighborhoods we would want to reside.  One of the speakers at the IL event listed 5 neighborhoods to consider.  As we are planning right now and do not have the IL notes of the conference as of yet, can you please list those neighborhoods for me.

We intend to visit them all and want to start the planning process

[COUNTRY EXPERT- SUZAN HASKINS]

Hi Wayne, I think that speaker might have been me. 🙂

Here is a rundown…and there are many neighborhoods worth exploring in Quito, but these are a few of my faves:

Old Town
Not long ago, Quito’s Old Town, the first-ever locale to be designated a UNESCO World Heritage site and called “el Centro” by locals, was a place best avoided. Pickpockets… ladies “of the night”… stolen goods being re-sold… beggars, thieves and panhandlers… all this and more of life’s seamier side could be found here.
Today, though, after a multi-million-dollar investment by both the government and private interests, Quito’s colonial heart beats to a far tamer and more rhythmic drummer. Rather than mischief, you’re far more likely to encounter schoolchildren on field trips and families strolling the famous “Calle La Ronda” where comfy restaurants and small cafes beckon and street games like hopscotch and ring toss are the norm these days.
This Renaissance—and an abundance of ancient thick-walled, tile-roofed colonial buildings ripe for renovation (at more than 800 acres, this is the largest historic center in the Americas)—has drawn young professionals and artistic types to Old Town. You can still find a bargain, though. On a narrow cobblestone street with views of the gothically iconic Basilica del Voto Nacional church, an impressive 3,325-square-foot building with arched windows and doorways—comprised of five apartments and two ground-floor commercial spaces—is selling for $99,000. Bring your drawing board, it will need complete renovation.
La Mariscal
Sometimes referred to as “Gringolandia” because of the hordes of tourists and backpacker hotels found here, La Mariscal is also where Quito’s rowdiest and most eclectic nightlife and some (but not all) of the city’s best ethnic restaurants can be found.
The intersection of Calles Reina Victoria and Foch is this neighborhood’s epicenter—with bars and outdoor cafes on every corner. Definitely a great place to relax with a drink and do some serious people watching.
La Floresta
Back in 2001 and 2002, my husband and I rented a house for a year in La Floresta, an established (and far quieter) neighborhood just up the hill to the east from La Mariscal. The house had four bedrooms, two bathrooms, even a separate casita for guests. And of course, there was a nice-sized walled yard for our traveling companion, a 90-pound Chocolate Lab we called our “man in a dog suit.” We paid $600 a month.
Today, prices have certainly gone up—as has the popularity of La Floresta. I’d expect to pay $1,000 a month for similar housing in this area today, roughly located between the Hotel Quito and the Swissotel and south to the University La Católica. There are far more upscale restaurants and shops here now than when we lived here 11 years ago, including a modern new SuperMaxi (Ecuador’s leading supermarket chain).
González Suárez
Want to feel like you’re living on Manhattan’s upper west side—while spending less than you would to live high on the hog in Manhattan, Kansas? Then González Suárez is the neighborhood for you.
The neighborhood stretches downward, and takes its name, from Avenida González Suárez, which runs north to south directly atop the highest ridge on Quito’s eastern side. The boulevard is lined by high-rise apartment buildings with ground-floor commercial areas where you’ll find health clubs and spas, beauty salons and dry cleaners as well as chic bakeries, pasta shops, sushi cafes, and more. If you didn’t notice the snow-capped volcanoes off in the distance, you might think you were in any upscale metropolitan neighborhood anywhere in the world.
Apartments on both sides of the street offer beautiful vistas, but if you’re lucky enough to live in an apartment on the east side of the avenue, you’ll be rewarded with a million-dollar view times ten. You’ll look directly upon the distinctively bohemian and charming colonial town of Guápalo, with its famous 17th-century walled church, the Santuario de Guápalo, and to the Valley of Tumbaco and beyond. You can literally see for miles and miles…and the feeling of the fog rolling up the ridge and enveloping you in its cool embrace is simply surreal.
La Carolina
The Parque Carolina area, and specifically Avenida República del Salvador, is another area where we’ve focused our Quito property search. Parque Carolina is one of the city’s largest parks…more than 165 acres of recreational options including jogging and walking paths, volleyball and soccer courts, a pond where you can rent paddleboats, concert centers, an exhibition center, botanical gardens, and more.
La Carolina neighborhood itself surrounds the park. And much like Avenida González Suárez, Avenida República del Salvador is a slice of metropolitan city life—a combination of office and apartment buildings towering above the avenue lined with upscale shops and restaurants. At the northern end of the avenue is Quicentro, one of the city’s largest and most upscale shopping malls. It doesn’t hurt, of course, that Cyril’s, my favorite artesan chocolate shop, is located in this neighborhood.
Several of the city’s new ultra-modern high-rise condo towers are bring built in this neighborhood. From what I’ve seen, the trend is for apartments to be small and compact and for the building to offer many services, including health clubs and swimming pool, theaters, communal barbecue areas, playgrounds for children and so on.
Bellavista
Quito’s Bellavista neighborhood, east of La Carolina and north of González Suárez, borders another of Quito’s biggest parks, the 14,000-acre Parque Metropolitano. Like González Suárez, some of the ridge tops of Bellavista offer expansive views of the city and the western Cordillera. Hence the name. Bellavista literally translates to “beautiful views.”
You’ll find well-established upscale homes in this area as well as apartments with super-sized views of the forested park, the city, or the valleys below the city.
Bellavista is also home to the former home of famous Ecuadorian painter Oswaldo Guayasamín and one of the city’s most impressive art museums, the Capilla del Hombre, dedicated to the indigenous and exploited people of Latin America. Be sure to visit when you travel to Quito…it’s interesting to see the painter’s home and studio (with extraordinary city views) and the museum itself, with its large-format murals, is hauntingly impressive.
Quito Tenis/El Batan (and Cumbres/Colines de Pichincha)
Where do U.S. embassy staff and international professionals live? Many choose Quito Tenis…and no, that’s not a typo. That’s the way the game is spelled here and if you’re a player, you’ll be happy to know that this neighborhood is named for the ultra-private Quito Tenis and Golf Club located here. With an 18-hole golf course, numerous courts for a variety of racquet sports, swimming pool, soccer fields, gym, health spa, nine restaurants, and more—even an equestrian center.
(Being a member gives you reciprocal rights at major golf and country clubs throughout Latin America and Spain.)
Prices in the upscale Quito Tenis neighborhood tend to be among the highest in the metropolitan area. But this is also considered one of the safest and most luxurious addresses in the city.
The Valleys: Tumbaco, Cumbayá Cumbaya, Los Chillos
If city living is not your style but you’d like to be close to all the amenities the city offers, head for the nearby valleys that can be reached in about 30 minutes from Quito.
The most popular valley towns are Tumbaco and Cumbayá (both in the Tumbaco Valley), just 10-15 miles or less from northern Quito, and close to the location of the new international airport scheduled to open in February, 2103. South of Tumbaco, the Los Chillos Valley is more closely accessible (15 miles) to southern Quito, and home to the popular towns of Sangolquí, Conocoto, San Rafael and Guangopolo.
You’ll not sacrifice a thing living in any of these, and that’s why most of the city’s middle- and upper-class families and commuters choose to live in the valleys, along with a good number of foreign embassy staff and foreign corporate employees. You’ll find convenient shopping, first-rate hospitals—like the well-respected Hospital de Los Valles in Cumbayá —and excellent schools, including the country’s top private international schools. Cumbayá is also home to the University of San Francisco, Ecuador’s top university.
Because the valleys are at a slightly lower elevation than the city, you’ll find the climate here tends to be a bit sunnier and warmer than in Quito. Tumbaco and Cumbayá, especially, are in the most sheltered parts of the valley.

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