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..

This grotto is a hidden treasure trove. No less than 10 petroglyphs and 472 pictograms dating from the Taíno period were discovered in the 1920s, depicting men, animals and ceremonies. These moving testimonies are enhanced by the beauty of the natura..

Parque Nacional del Este, over 400km 2 between land and sea, is home to an exceptional variety of flora and fauna including several hundred species of plants and wildlife, some of which are endemic or endangered, such as the whale shark and manatee...

The 208km 2 Parque Nacional Los Haitises is spread over the largest karst region of the Caribbean. The limestone rocks, eroded over time by water, have given rise to fascinating landscapes of grottoes, gorges, dry valleys, mogotes (rocks rising fr..

The Cordillera Central is dotted with several summits over 3 000m in altitude, the highest of which is the Pico Duarte (3 090m), the rooftop of the West Indies. An ascent of the Pico Duarte is a highlight of the Dominican Republic's sports tourism fo..

From La Cueva, there are two ways of reaching Las Águilas : either walk (1hr in a sweltering heat) or hire a boat. Your objective, the beautiful unspoiled beach of Las Águilas, named after the sea eagles that nest here, is a picture postcard vision ..

Lago Enriquillo, the largest lake in the Caribbean, extends from the Sierras de Neiba, in the north, to Bahoruco, in the south. Its very salty waters are the result of the gradual enclosure of an inland expanse of water. Driving on routes 46 and 68, ..

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..