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Above: Columbus Square

Santa Domingo Attractions

Colonial Zone [Zona Colonial]
If you only have time to go to one part of this great city then go to the Colonial Zone.

Between Independence Park and the
Ozama River, is the the first city built in the New World by European settlers. These settlers included Christopher Columbus's brother, Bartholomeo, and his son, Diego Columbus.

The first street in the Americas was Calle de Las Damas, the site of numerous historic buildings including the Ozama Fortress [photo right], the oldest fortress in the Americas. There is also the house of Nicolas de Ovando, governor of Santo Domingo in the early 1500's and a ruthless warrior against the Taino Indians.

Of great historical interest is the Museo de las Casas Reales (Museum of the Royal Houses), the restored 16th century palace of the Spanish Court. Nearby is the Alcazar de Colon (Castle of Columbus) built by Diego Columbus and his wife Maria de Toledo, niece of the Spanish King Ferdinand.

[cont right]

Above: Ozama Fortress

In the centre of the walled city, visitors will find the Cathedral Basilica Santa Maria la Menor [below left], pronounced
the first cathedral in the New World by Pope Paul III in 1542.

If you look closely at the outside bell towers, they say you can still see the original canon ball holes made by Francis Drake`s men when they sacked the Cathedral in the late sixteenth century.

Whilst in the colonial zone you can learn all about amber, the stone made even more famous by Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park film. Check out the Amber Museum on Calle Arz for wonderful examples of amber.

There are also some superb shops selling the sky blue stone "Laramar", indigenous to the DR and similar in appearance to turquoise.

Plaza de la Cultura

Houses some of the city's most important cultural attractions. There is the Teatro Nacional [National Theatre] and the Palacio de Bellas Artes, a neoclassical theatre that is the permanent home of the Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional (National Symphony Orchestra).

There are many museums celebrating all aspects of Dominican life, past and present. Plaza de la Cultura is a large park area where you can stroll easily from one museum to another. [cont left]

Left: Cathedral Basilica Santa Maria la Menor

The museums in Plaza de la Cultura include the following:

The capital of Dominican Republic houses the Museum of Dominican Man [Museo Del Hombres Dominicano]-a fascinating look into the history of the Dominican people including
original Taino artifacts, the Spanish conquerors and the African slaves.

The National Museum of History and Geography [Museo Nacional de historia y geografia]-includes the car, punctured with bullet holes, where the dictator Trujillo was bundled following his assassination in 1961.

Contemporary Dominican Art

Museo Bellapart-Located on the John F. Kennedy Expressway in the central Naco part of town, this privately-owned museum features one of the best collections anywhere of Dominican contemporary art.

Columbus Lighthouse

Another site not to be missed in the Capital of Dominican Republic is the Faro a Colon (Columbus Lighthouse). This is not everyone`s cup of tea but an imposing structure nonetheless in the shape of a cross constructed to mark the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' arrival in the Americas [see photo right] in 1492.

Columbus`remains are housed in an impressive tomb and there are many exhibits. It is worth a trip by day and then to view the Lighthouse at night from the Colonial City, when the powerful lights are reflected into the sky in the shape of a
cross. The lighthouse is located in the Mirador del Este Park.

Above: Columbus Lighthouse