Your hotel can usually arrange a car and driver on a daily or half-daily rate.

Old Town

Quito’s Old Town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site where new buildings are not allowed. The area is crammed with colonial buildings, narrow streets, churches, monasteries, squares, museums. You could easily spend a day or more wandering around, but if you’re pushed for time you can see the highlights in a morning. Guided walking tours are available, or pick up a self-guiding map from the tourist office. On Sundays the streets are closed to cars, so it’s nicer for walking – although many shops, etc, may be shut.

Teleferiqo
www.teleferiqo.com

This is the world's second-highest cable car, it’ll take you 4000m (12,000ft) up the side of Volcano Pichincha for stunning views of the surrounding peaks and the city below. The ride up and down is pretty cool, too. The longest views are on clear days, especially in the morning; avoid the weekends if you can, the queue gets too long unless you get there when it first opens. At the top you take a pony for a peaceful jaunt around the summit (or hike it). Wear something warm, it’s cool up there.

Artisans Markets

Woolen rugs, hand-made clothing, sculptures, tapestries, jewellery, colourful ponchos, needlework, and proper Panama hats: you can find all this in Ecuador. In a pinch, these things are available in many New Town shops – but it’s more fun to go to the artisans markets. 

The most famous market is in the town of Otavalo, a 2-hour drive north of Quito. It runs every day of the week, but Wednesday is a big day, and Saturday is a really big day. If you go on Saturday, try to arrive very early to avoid the tour bus crowds.

You could do Otavalo in a morning, then in the afternoon visit the nearby towns of Cotacachi (for affordable but good quality leather goods) and San Antonio de Ibarra (home of Ecuador’s best wood sculptors). Or, visit Mitad del Mundo for the afternoon, it’s in the same neck of the woods.

If you’re pushed for time, there’s a small artisans market in Park Ejido, in Quito’s New Town. It runs Saturdays and Sundays.

Museums, Churches, Galleries

Quito is crammed with them. If you’re into this kind of thing then you’ll easily be kept busy for days. Depending where your interests lie, and how much time you have, Iglesia de San Francisco, Plaza de la Independencia, La Compañía de Jesús, and Museo Guayasamin are all meant to be worth a look.

Iglesia de San Francisco closes 12-3pm, so try to get there in the morning if you want to look inside.

Cotopaxi

The world’s highest active volcano is at Quito’s doorstep. If you’re a mad keen climber, then go for it, crampons and all. Fortunately for the rest of us, you don’t need to be a serious climber to enjoy Cotopaxi: you can drive 1.5hrs up to… the parking lot. Before you laugh, the parking lot is at 4500m (14,760ft) so you’re up where the air is thin and the views are spectacular. If you’re not feeling lightheaded and giddy at that stage, you can hike further up to the refugio (45mins), or beyond to where glaciers start (another 60mins). Wear hiking footwear and warm clothes.

Horseback Riding

Green Horse Ranch run daily guided riding tours for any level of riders. They say their horses range “from very calm to very sparky … no problem for beginners, no bore for experts”. The tour takes in the inner crater of the Pululahua National Reserve. Ilalo Expeditions use Peruvian Pasos, and offer 1-day guided tours of Ilalo Volcano.

Mountain Biking

With all the hills and the high altitude, biking around Quito is a challenge for even the very fit. For this reason, many tours include some “downhill biking”: jeeps take you to the top of a mountain, and from there you ride back down. Biking Dutchman offers 1-day tours of either Cotopaxi, Papallacta, or Otavalo. Aries Bike Company offers similar destinations, as well as Bellavista.