Historic centre

We start at Plaza de la Constitución, the true living room of the city. Here you find the most important civic buildings and the everyday life of Loja.

On one side stands El Pósito, the old municipal granary. It was an essential piece: it guaranteed bread in years of bad harvest and regulated prices. Its Renaissance façade is still impressive.

Very close, the Casa de Cabildos was the historical seat of municipal power, and a little further the Casa de la Cultura, a former convent reborn as a meeting space.

From the square, commercial streets climb to the upper town. You will find traditional bakeries to try the famous roscos de Loja, a unique sweet covered in glossy meringue.

The historic centre is not a stage set: markets are held here, festivals are celebrated here, life happens here. That is why it keeps that rare mixture of monument and neighbourhood.

Have a coffee, stroll without a plan, look at the balconies. Loja makes much more sense from one of its squares than from any leaflet.