Quito’s Independence Square in the historical downtown area is beautifully lit up at night. The square was designed in Spanish colonial style – with the presidential palace facing the Cathedral, adjacent to the City Hall. There are walking tours during the day when the square is quite active, but at night there aren’t too many tourists around. The Government Palace itself was a hive of activity well past 10pm with motorcades coming and going along with the roar of security on motorcycles who keep the palace (and the sqaure) relatively safe.
You can get an excellent view of Independence Square and its luminous churches over dinner by exploring the heights of Quito in the Parque Itchimbia area. It also happens to be a short cab ride from La Ronda Street which too glows brightly throughout the night. You can see some more of the bright buildings from Independence Square and downtown Quito in my album here.
Cool – it’s good that it’s so safe to walk around and enjoy these things at night. By the way, did you know that I’m seeing a Bristol paintball ad on your site – how did they know that I live in Bristol and was recently organising a paintballing party for my son – is this Google profiling at it’s most spooky?
Google is everywhere – it’s crazy how much information they have about many of us!
it’s amazing how pretty it looks! The blue lights give this an almost delicate look….for a government building. 🙂
The yellow lights around the square also give it a delicate feel, except for all the commotion – it’s a very busy part of town!
That photo reminds me of Puerto Rico for some reason. Nice shot! Even though it’s night, I can tell it’s probably hot as hell outside when you took the pic.
It was warm that night but surprisingly enough, Quito is fairly chilly at night and doesn’t get too hot during most days due to the extreme elevation of the city.