Anthropological and Contemporary Art Museum (MAAC)
Museo Antropológico y de Arte Contemporáneo
A modern museum at the northern end of the riverside promenade, holding tens of thousands of pre-Columbian ceramics and gold pieces, and showing contemporary Ecuadorian art.
MAAC is at the northern end of Malecón 2000. It opened in 2003 and is built on the collection of the Central Bank of Ecuador. The permanent exhibition 'Ten Thousand Years of Ancient Ecuador' systematically presents pottery, gold and silver ornaments and stone carvings from coastal cultures such as Valdivia, Chorrera and Manteña. Highlights include the Valdivia 'Venus' figurine, one of the earliest ceramics in the Americas. There are also contemporary art galleries and a cinema. Entry is free, and it is open Tuesday to Sunday, roughly 09:00–16:30, closed on Mondays. It can be combined with La Perla and Santa Ana Hill in the same afternoon.
Opening hours
Tue–Sun approx. 09:00–16:30
Nearby sights
- La Perla Ferris Wheel
- Las Peñas
- Aerovía Cable Car
- Cerro Santa Ana & Lighthouse
- Puerto Santa Ana
- Hemiciclo de La Rotonda
- Church of San Francisco
- Malecón 2000 (Malecón Simón Bolívar)