On the right bank of the Río Ozama, the colonial district of Santo Domingo is dotted with historic monuments, handsome mansions and interesting museums along streets laid out according to a perpendicular plan that was to influence other cities in the..

Calle Las Damas was the first street in the New World to be paved and was named in tribute to the ladies-in-waiting of Doña María de Toledo, wife of Viceroy don Diego Colomb, who liked to walk here. It is lined with beautiful mansions, where the Span..

Santa María la Menor Cathedral, devoid of belfry and bell tower, is nonetheless a major illustration of Spanish Renaissance, whose façade is adorned with Plateresque, Moorish and Gothic motifs. The vaulted triple nave interior is home to, in addition..

Casa de Tostado, a handsome stately home , was built in 1503. The twin window overlooking Calle Padre Billini is not only unique in Santo Domingo but in the whole of America. The entirely refurbished interior reproduces the home a 19C nobleman. Afte..

Fortaleza Ozama, the first military edifice of the New World, made it possible to keep watch over and control the Ozama river, Caribbean sea and harbour. The impressive 18.5m-high Torre del Homenaje stands in the fort's inner courtyard. Encircled b..

These 16C walls pay tribute to the adventure of the discovery of the New World. Maps, models, weapons and crockery evoke the travels of Christopher Columbus, misdemeanours of the English pirate Francis Drake, the colonial period, tobacco and sugar ca..

The bars and restaurants of Plaza de España, which attract the Dominicans at the weekends and during major festivals, is also the site of the Alcázar de Colón , 16C residence of the Viceroys of Spain, built at the same time as the town, on the right..

Alcázar de Colón, in ruins in the Fifties, has been partially rebuilt according to the original plans, which date back to the early 16C. The Alcázar, which features an unusual rectangular interior, was the former palace of Viceroy don Diego Colomb an..

The staircase of the Museo Mundo del Ámbar is adorned by a fresco that depicts the natural decor in which amber resin is formed. The museum houses a unique collection that features flora and fauna (fragments of leaves and insects); the specimens da..

Plaza de la Cultura, in the town centre, is home to the ultra-modern National Theatre, Film Library and Ethnographic, History, Geography and Modern Art Museums. The complex is surrounded by bars and restaurants, ideal for a break between museums, whi..

The Museo del Hombre Dominicano will enchant anyone who wants to find out more about Dominican culture. From the Palaeolithic American Indian tribes to the Arawak and Taíno Indians and the Spanish conquistadors and African slaves to today's D..

The Museo Bellapart is a private plastic arts museum that contains work from the second half of the 19C to the mid-20C. Paintings and sculpture by top Dominican and exiled European artists are displayed. They highlight the creators' personal contribu..

Manuel García de Arévalo , archaeologist and author of El Arte Taino en República Dominicana is behind this foundation that, since 1973, boasts the finest private collection of Taíno art in the world. The oldest exhibits date back some 5000 year..

The Jardín Botánico Nacional is dedicated to the Dominican botanist Rafael Moscoso , who founded Santo Domingo's botanic institute. An oasis in the city, the park is home to most of the species, endemic and otherwise, inventoried on the island. It i..

On Calle Padre Billini, Iglesia del Convento Regina Angelorum (16C) is characterised by its blind arcaded façade and late-Gothic ribbed vault. The handsome Quinta Dominica hosts an exhibition area. Built 1729, the Jesuit Capilla de la Tercera Or..

The Dominican convent is one of the colonial town's most beautiful monuments. It was the first to boast a theological chair that was to become the first university of America. Its fine façade is characterised by Baroque decorative details that were..

Casa Rodrigo de Bastidas, built in the 16C, belonged to the Bastidas, a well-established Santo Domingo family. Ask whether you can take a look at the lovely patio, today the scene of art workshops for children. Outside, the statue of Santa Bárbara, p..

The Museo Naval de la Atarazana is housed in a former arsenal and customs warehouse. It is also one of the most fascinating examples of colonial architecture. Inside, beneath three naves built out of brick and upheld by stone columns, the naval his..

Calle Isabel la Católica is lined with handsome abodes, and while the overhead electric cables may bother the budding photographer, the charm of this working class area remains. Visit Casa del Cordón (N° 214), reputed to be the first stone-built ho..

The Museo del Larimar charts the history of this semi-precious stone, a blue pectolite only found in the Dominican Republic. The exhibit cases display uncut stones, extracted from the mines and other stones at different stages of cutting and polishin..