One of the most extensive urban-renewal projects in South America, Malecón 2000 is made up of monuments, playgrounds, sculptures, gardens and river views. From its southernmost point at the Mercado Sur to Cerro Santa Ana and Las Peñas in the north, el malecón stretches 2.5km along the bank of the wide Río Guayas. It’s a gated, policed public space with restaurants, a museum, a performance space, a movie theater and a shopping mall.

　　At the far northern end are good views of the colonial district of Las Peñas and Cerro Santa Ana and, in the distance, the Puente de la Unidad Nacional (National Union Bridge) soaring over the Río Daule. The Cinema Guayaquil has a dioramic, narrated historical overview of the city, in miniature, for those who don't have time to walk the entire place.