Centro Cultural Metropolitano

Quito


Just off Plaza Grande, this beautifully restored building houses the municipal library and lecture rooms, and hosts temporary art exhibitions.

The location is rich in history: it is supposedly the site of one of Inca ruler Atahualpa’s palaces; a Jesuit school from 1597 to 1767; an army barracks after the expulsion of the Jesuits in the late 1700s; and, in 1809, the site at which royalist forces held a group of revolutionaries, before murdering them a year later (this event is remembered in the center's Museo Alberto Mena Caamaño).


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Quito attractions

1. Museo Alberto Mena Caamaño

0.01 MILES

Get a glimpse of Quito’s early colonial history through wax figures depicting the city's key events, including the massacre of August 2, 1810 when some…

2. Iglesia del Sagrario

0.03 MILES

Beside the cathedral on García Moreno stands the 17th-century Iglesia del Sagrario.

3. Palacio de Gobierno

0.04 MILES

The low white building on the northwestern side of Plaza Grande is the seat of the Ecuadorian presidency. Visitors can enter by joining a free guided tour…

4. Catedral Metropolitana

0.04 MILES

On Plaza Grande's southwest side stands Quito's cathedral. Although not the most ornate of the Old Town’s churches, it has some fascinating works by…

5. Plaza Grande

0.06 MILES

While wandering around colonial Quito, you'll probably pass through the Plaza Grande several times. Its benches are great for soaking up the Andean…

6. Iglesia de la Compañía de Jesús

0.06 MILES

Capped by green-and-gold domes, La Compañía de Jesús is Quito’s most ornate church and a standout among the baroque splendors of the Old Town. Free guided…

7. Palacio Arzobispal

0.09 MILES

On the northeast side of Plaza Grande, this former archbishop’s palace is now a colonnaded row of small shops and restaurants, located between Avenidas…

8. Casa Museo María Augusta Urrutía

0.12 MILES

Of Quito’s house museums, this is the one not to miss: it’s a splendidly preserved, 19th-century home that was once the abode of the city’s best-loved…