Quito La Mariscal and La Floresta Self-Guided Audio Walk: Casa de la Cultura, Castles and Plaza Foch
1 hour and 45 minutes
About this experience
In the twentieth century Quito walked out of its colonial old town. Wealthy families built a garden suburb of villas, castles and domed houses; then came mid-century modernism and, with the 1970s oil boom, towers that replaced many of the villas. Start at the Casa de la Cultura, founded in 1944, and stop at El Ejido's carved stone arch before crossing into La Mariscal: the craft market, a block of Rubén Vinci's domed houses, Plaza Foch and a street of matching 1930s houses under plane trees. Climb to a white 1930s castle standing at the foot of a modern tower, then cross into La Floresta, with its independent cinema, a park designed with the neighbors and a heritage square. Ten stops, about 3.5 km and 105 minutes, in English or Spanish, at your own pace. A gentle climb, at about 2,800 m. Best walked by day.
- Experience type
- Day tour or activity
- Duration
- 1 hour and 45 minutes
- Guide
- Spanish, English
- Audio guide
- Spanish, English
- Categories
- Walking tour · Cultural and theme tours · City tours
What's included
Self-guided audio tour in English and Spanish: 10 stops, 3.5 km, 105 minutes Stops at El Ejido's carved arch, Rubén Vinci's domed houses, Plaza Foch and a 1930s castle under a tower GPS map and walking directions in your phone browser, no app needed Lifetime access: start any day, at any hour, and replay it
What's not included
A live guide: you set the pace and the pauses A fixed start time: begin whenever you arrive Museum and monument tickets, all optional extras Tip or gratuity Food and drinks Entry or admission fee
Please note
To start the tour, enter the ticket code from your confirmation on the Roamer redemption page linked there. Do this before you set off, while you still have signal. The tour then opens in your phone browser, with no app to download. Bring a charged phone and earphones. Mobile data helps; if you have none, open the tour on wifi before you set off. Best time: By day, from about 9:00 to 16:30. La Mariscal and the edge of Parque El Ejido are best walked in daylight. At weekends the painters show their work along the park's Avenida Patria edge. Plaza Foch is quietest in the morning and busiest at night. Getting to the start: the Metro de Quito's El Ejido station has an entrance about 80 m from stop 1; the Ecovia's Casa de la Cultura stop on Avenida 6 de Diciembre is about 70 m away; the Trolebus El Ejido stop on Avenida 10 de Agosto is across the park, about 400 m. By taxi, ask for 'Casa de la Cultura, 6 de Diciembre y Patria'. The Museo Nacional (MuNa) is still housed in the Casa de la Cultura complex at stop 1; a new building opposite Parque La Carolina is due to start in 2027 and open at the end of 2028. The Casa de la Cultura does not publish its hours online, so check at the door. Checked 5 October 2026. Ocho y Medio (stop 8) is open with a published program: Sala 1 USD 7 and Sala 2 USD 5 general admission. Checked 5 October 2026. The painter Oswaldo Guayasamín's foundation and the Capilla del Hombre are uphill from La Floresta, too far to walk on this route: take a taxi from the end, and check hours and prices on their own site before you go. Karl Kohn's house (passed before stop 7) and the Castillo Larrea are private: both are seen from the street only. The walk ends at the Plaza de la Floresta, with buses on Ladrón de Guevara and La Coruña and taxis passing the square. Walk it by day. La Mariscal has a reputation for petty theft and bag snatching on its busy commercial streets (Amazonas, Juan León Mera, Reina Victoria) and around Plaza Foch, and for drunk crowds after dark. Keep bags in front of you. Parque El Ejido empties at night; the route uses only the paths near its busy north-east edge, between the Casa de la Cultura and the arch. Crossings: the first crossing of Avenida 6 de Diciembre, in front of the Casa de la Cultura, is a wide zebra over busy lanes: cross with care. The second, at Lizardo García, and the crossing of 12 de Octubre at Luis Cordero are at traffic lights. Isabel la Católica, Toledo and La Coruña have zebras only, and Isabel la Católica and La Coruña carry buses: wait for a gap. The Plaza de la Floresta is a roundabout: reach the green only by the zebra crossings. La Floresta's streets were under municipal rehabilitation from 30 April 2026 (Vizcaya for about 55 days with sectional closures; Madrid for about 155 days; Mallorca, which the route crosses, from June to August). Works should be finished, but expect detours. Checked 5 October 2026. Quito sits about 2,800 m above sea level. The climb up Lizardo García and on into La Floresta is gentle but long: take it slowly, and carry water and sun protection. Public transportation nearby
Itinerary
- 1Day 0
Casa de la Cultura: A Nation's House of Culture
Avenida 6 de Diciembre, Quito
A national house of culture. Ecuador created the Casa de la Cultura by decree in 1944; its first building, from 1945 and 1946, stands behind the railings, the great main block behind it.
- 2Day 0
El Ejido: A Garden Gate Turned Arch
Avenida Patria, Quito
A carved stone arch in El Ejido. It was the garden gate of a private palace, rebuilt here in a park that began as the colonial city's common land.
- 3Day 0
Mercado Artesanal: From Pavement to Market Hall
Juan León Mera, Quito
A craft market off Amazonas. In 2000 the city gave the traders, many of them from Otavalo, this site in La Mariscal, the garden suburb laid out from the 1920s.
- 4Day 0
Calle Roca: Rubén Vinci's Domes
Calle Roca E6-35, Quito
Domed 1930s houses by Rubén Vinci. Across the street rises La Coupole, with its domes and minarets, the garden suburb at its most fanciful.
- 5Day 0
Plaza Foch: Villas Turned Bars
E6-11 Plaza Foch, Quito
The square at La Mariscal's heart. Its villas became bars, hostels and agencies, and the 1970s oil boom brought the towers.
- 6Day 0
Calle Juan Rodríguez: Houses for the Pension Fund
E8-20 Juan Rodríguez, Quito
Matching houses under plane trees. The engineer Luis Egüez designed them in 1937 for members of the state pension fund, the middle-class side of La Mariscal.
- 7Day 0
Castillo Larrea: The Castle Under the Tower
N24-359 Avenida 12 de Octubre, Quito
A 1930s castle beneath a tower. Built for a diplomat who studied the Middle Ages, it lost its garden and drawbridge to a tower in the 2010s.
- 8Day 0
Ocho y Medio: The Cinema Beyond the Mall
N24-353 Valladolid, Quito
An independent cinema named for Fellini. Ocho y Medio opened in 2001 on the corner of Valladolid and Vizcaya, in La Floresta, where the streets are named after Spain.
- 9Day 0
Parque Vizcaya: A Park Made from a Street
N24-250 Lugo, Quito
A small park made with neighbors, shown at Habitat III in 2016. Quito planned it for the part of the city with the least green space per person.
- 10Day 0
Plaza de la Floresta: The Suburb That Kept Its Scale
Plaza de la Floresta, Quito
The round green of La Floresta. The suburb laid out from 1917 kept its houses, and in 2021 the state declared 141 of its properties national heritage.
Meeting point
Casa de la Cultura, Quito Avenida 6 de Diciembre, Quito, Pichincha, EC
Pick up
Pickup is not provided.
Cancellation policy · Quito La Mariscal and La Floresta Self-Guided Audio Walk: Casa de la Cultura, Castles and Plaza Foch
Standard Viator policy
- Cancellation 0–24 hours before departure: 100% cancellation fee.
- Cancellation 24–24000 hours before departure: 0% cancellation fee.
Good to know
Operated by Roamer and sold by AGORA. Your voucher and booking reference arrive by email straight after payment.