Guayaquil sightseeing:

Malecón 2000 I Artisan Market I Plaza Centenario I Seminario Park I Botanical Garden I Other attractions I Districts

Mercado Artesanal - The largest artisan market is located in the middle of Loja street and Montalvo and Córdova and Chimborazo and has well priced paintings, jewelry and local crafts. For additional information see Guayaquil's Artisan Market and Craft stores.

Plaza Centenario - This is the city's largest plaza spanning some 4 blocks half way up 9 de Octubre and has a Monument depicting the Liberty of Guayaquil with the founding fathers of the country surrounding it paying homage to patriotism. There are also several other various monuments placated within the plaza.

© Picture by Isabel de Wuth. 02-2282841.

Seminario Park.- Located on Avenida 10 de Agosto and Chile
The park also known as Parque Bolivar is surrounded with friendly iguanas measuring around 4 to 5 feet that you can view on the ground or in the trees as they look down surveying the land for hand outs of food or leftovers from the park visitor. The iguanas found here are not the same prehistoric looking variety of Galapagos and are in complete contrast to the surrounding newer first class hotels but the locals and tourists have all grown to be very fond of these unassuming iguanas. There is also a small pond of multicolored Tilapias as well as a statue of Simón Bolivar in the center of the park.

Other Attractions

The City Cemetery.- To the North lies the colossal white decorated Cemetery comprising of monuments, high rise tombs and mausoleums of the gaudy rich (always take a Taxi to get there). Opposite the Cemetery under a bridge is a large area of flower stalls and again for security we recommend you restrict visits to Sundays while there are more people around.
A land mark above the market and cemetery is the Cerro El Carmen, the Angel of protection that guards over the City from its regal high point.

Sport clubs.- As well as possessing two football stadiums a Coliseum (Coliseo Cerrado) for basket ball, boxing and other indoor events you can also find a number of Clubs promoting tennis (clay or concrete), golf courses, sailing schools facilities and also swimming pools. Horse racing can also be seen 6 km from the city at El Buijo.

Movie cinemas, Theaters and Concert halls.- Several cinemas are located in the down town area of the City, but the best are in the north especially in the big malls (Multicines and Cinemark). To find the listings of what is going on buy the local newspapers: El Universo or El Telégrafo. Often the movies are played in English with Spanish subtitles so even if you speak little Spanish you may still enjoy the films in English. The same papers also provide a listing of Art galleries and museums but do check also with your hoteliers and tourist information centers for further listings.

Another attraction in Guayaquil is the ice-skating rink known as "Zona Fría", located along the autopista La Puntilla-Samborondón. Km 2.5.

Teatro Centro de Arte houses a wide selection of different themes and presentations throughout the year, head towards the coastal road.

Finally, for the classical music observer do visit the Centro Cívico towards the South. The center is the main home of the Guayaquil Symphony Orchestra (gives free concerts throughout the year). See also our Tour operators section for city tours.

Districts

Las Peñas.- At the Northern end of the Malecón 2000, you will find an old colonial area of the city with wooden constructed houses and cobbled streets (Numa Pompillo Llona) spread through intermittent elevated levels of stairs and steps. This narrow corridor style street was named after the composer of the country's national anthem.

© Picture by Francisco Ipanaqué

The entrance to Plaza Colón has two set of cannons that point to the river commemorating the crusades against Dutch pirates in 1624. The Peñas is best viewed bathed in full illumination in the evenings and has a wide variety of artisans as well as several nice bars, cafés and restaurants. Many of the houses have plaques and old photographs showing before and after renovation pictures as well as historical outlines of previous owners including previous Presidents.

Urdesa is located 4 km north west of Guayaquil and has a feast of restaurants on the main street Victor Emilio Estrada. Here you'll find everything from Arabic, Italian, Swiss, Bulgarian, Cuban, Ecuadorian as well as Vegetarian dining including several bars. See our Guayaquil restaurants section.

The other districts of La Garzota, Sauces and Alborada are also worth a visit. These districts are much quieter than down town, it also has a good selection of restaurants as well as good shopping and entertainment for the evening and is around 10 minutes from the city center by taxi and closer to the Bus station and the airport.

Finally, Barrio Centenario South from down town was the original central residential zone and is also a tranquil area for strolls with many tree lined roads.

Guayaquil sightseeing:

Malecón 2000 I Artisan Market I Plaza Centenario I Seminario Park I Botanical Garden I Other attractions I Districts

Excursions from Guayaquil:

Cerro Blanco Forest Reserve I Puerto Hondo I Manglares Churute Ecological Reserve I Historical Park I Botanical Garden I "El Pantanal" Zoo I Puná Island

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