Santo Domingo is the capital of the Dominican Republic, its cultural and economic center, located in the south of the country. Do you know Where is Santo Domingo? Santo Domingo is located in the south of the Dominican Republic and in the south-east of the island of Haiti. The city is located on a flat stretch of the Caribbean coast and covers an area of 250 square kilometers. For tourists, the colonial area of Santo Domingo is the highlight of this city, where most of the important Santo Domingo tourist attractions are located. The old center is a delightful combination of history and modern Dominican life. The ruins of the 16th century, scattered among the magnificently restored colonial buildings, are a constant reminder of the incredible history of this city. What can I say, the Instagrammable places of Santo Domingo are amazing.
Where is Santo Domingo located
Founded by Christopher Columbus in the late 1400s, this first city of the New World is the place where Columbus lived and was buried. Today, the entire colonial area, the Colonial Zone, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and many Santo Domingo museums, restaurants, and hotels. All the attractions described here aka the Instagrammable places of Santo Domingo are located within the Colonial Zone. The area is relatively compact and easy to explore on foot, but with so many Santo Domingo tourist attractions that it's easy to spend a few days sightseeing and soaking up the atmosphere. Narrow single-lane roads open onto parks with mature trees and old stone buildings. The open-air restaurants, reminiscent of European cafes, offer a welcoming retreat from the heat of the day, where you can sit and watch life. Columbus Park and Plaza España are two of the main tourist destinations and Instagrammable places to start your tour. You will find many restaurants in these areas, as well as official guides offering to show you around and providing information about the sights and things to do in Santo Domingo.
1. Colon Park (Columbus Park)
In the heart of the Colonial Zone is Colon Park, the busiest and most enticing square in the city. The square is frequented by musicians and street performers, shoeshine cleaners are installed along the street, and children chase pigeons around the statue of Christopher Columbus, which stands proudly in the center.
On the south side of the square is the Cathedral of Santo Domingo Primada América, the first cathedral built in America. Built-in the early 1500s and completed in 1540, its present name is the Cathedral of the Basilica of Santa Maria la Menora.
On the north side of the Parque Colon runs Calle El Conde, the main pedestrian street of the city, with a couple of restaurants with outdoor tables that overlook the park. This is the best place to sit and appreciate the sights and sounds of this Instagrammable square. If you want to take a tour, the Chu Chu-Kolonde tourist cart departs from the east side of the square.
It is also the Instagrammable place to base yourself if you are spending a night or more. Not far from Parque Colon is the quaint Palacio Boutique Hotel, set in a historic building with a beautiful courtyard and old-world charm. It offers a variety of rooms from luxury to medium-sized categories, which vary in size and price. Another noteworthy hotel with a similar colonial atmosphere is El Beaterio Casa Museo.
Location: Calle El Conde and Kalle Arzobispo of Merino
2. Cathedral of Santo Domingo Primada America (The first Cathedral in America)
This impressive basilica, located on the south side of the park "Colon", was built in 1540 and was the first cathedral built on the American continent. It is not a ruin, but a functioning place of worship, which still retains many original features dating back to the 16th century. The original mahogany doors open into the majestic interior, where you can see a silver altar and a painting of the Virgin Mary from 1520. Although the real name of the cathedral is the Basilica of Santa Maria la Menora, tourist maps list this site as Catedral Primada de America. Location: Southside of the Park colon street Arzobispo of Merino.
3. Museo de las Casas Reales (Museum of the Royal houses)
Built-in the first half of the 16th century, this impressive structure was originally commissioned by Spain and was intended to house the most important government offices of the New World. In the 1970s, it was turned into a museum to show the history and culture of the region. Among the museum's exhibits are taino artifacts, colonial furniture, and an interesting collection of weapons. The corridors are narrow in places, and on busy days the museum can feel quite crowded, but the courtyard with benches and a small garden offers a pleasant respite. The displays are in Spanish, but headsets with audio recordings in multiple languages are available for your entry fee. Location: Southside of Plaza de Espana, on Las Damas Street.
4. National Pantheon of the Dominican Republic (National Pantheon)
An excursion to Santo Domingo is not complete without a visit to this place. Originally built as a church in the first half of the 18th century, in 1956, by order of dictator Rafael Trujillo, the building was converted into a national mausoleum in honor of the country's most important people. He had never imagined that this building contained, among other things, the remains of the people who had killed him. It is also home to such famous names as Francisco Gregorio Billini, Gregorio Luperon, Eugenio Maria de Hostos and Jose Gabriel Garcia. The interior is Instagrammable: marble tombs along the walls, arches, richly painted ceiling and a huge chandelier in the Gothic style. Opposite the entrance, at the end of a long red carpet, an eternal flame rises from the floor. Location: Calle Las Damas, one block south of the Casas Reales Museum.
5. Plaza de Espana
Plaza de Espana is a very large and open square on the edge of the Colonial Zone, near Rio Ozama. Often a venue for events and social gatherings, it is not an intimate square where you would go to sit on a bench and sip coffee under a tree. On the edge of the park, there are a number of restaurants with an outdoor dining area. Tour guides often hang out in the vicinity of the cafe and approach visitors to entice them to join the walking tour. In the square, opposite the restaurants and closer to the river, is the Alcazar de Colon. This former residence of the Columbus family is now a museum. Location: Calle La Atarazana, or the North end of Calle Las Damas, the Museum of the Casas Reales.
6. Colonial Chu-chu sightseeing Cart
The Santo Domingo Excursion on the Colonial Chu Chu is a small open-air sightseeing train that passes through the Colonial Santo Domingo Zone. Although the area is quite small and easily accessible for walking, on hot days, Chu Chu is a tempting option. The tour lasts about 45 minutes and will allow you to see the sights from the relative comfort of a bench covered in the shade as it stretches you along the cobbled streets and past the city's most famous landmarks. Keep an eye out for places you might want to visit after the tour. The tour starts from the east side of Colon Park. Location: Colon Park.
7. The Convent Of San Francisco
The ruins of the San Francisco Monastery are one of the most important historical sites in the Dominican Republic. The first monastery built in the New World, it stands as a symbol of the trials and tribulations that have caused this city for centuries. The monastery has survived countless disasters, suffered from hurricanes, been destroyed by earthquakes, looted by Francis Drake, and used in battles only to be rebuilt again and again. The ruins are still used as a venue for some events. Location: Calle Hostos and Calle Juan Isidro Perez.
8. Choco Santo Domingo Museum
The Choco Museumis more than just a delicious stop in the Colonial Zone. Housed in a 16th-century building, the Museum and Chocolate Factory is an informative and fascinating way to experience the cocoa industry in the Dominican Republic. You can try chocolate slices and chocolate drinks, or try cocoa-based beauty products. Behind the sampling counter is a small museum with exhibits about the history of cocoa and the work of drying and processing cocoa seeds. In front of the store, you can buy all kinds of chocolate goodies and products. The displays are labelled in English and Spanish, and some employees speak English. The museum and chocolate tasting are free of charge. Location: Near Parque Colon on Arzobispo Merino, north of Calle El Conde.
9. Calle El Conde
The best place to visit in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic for al fresco dining is Calle El Conde. This pedestrian street runs from Plaza Independencia to Colon Park and just beyond it to Rio de Janeiro Ozama. The most Instagrammable section is closest to the river around Parque Colón, where most of the restaurants are located. Restored colonial buildings lining the street and outdoor restaurants give this end of the Calle El Conde a distinctly European feel. Tourists tend to frequent the area. As you walk towards Plaza Independencia, the street becomes more modern, with clothing stores, small shops, and a more authentic Dominican vibe.
10. Independent Park
At the far western end of Calle El Conde, Parque Independencia celebrates the anniversary of the independence of the Dominican Republic. Entering through the vast Puerta del Conde, the square is lined with busts that lead to the Altarpiece of the Patria (Altar of the Nation), the mausoleum where the founders of the Dominican Republic rest. Inside the square, the names Sanchez, Duarte and Mella are displayed. In this square, except for the mausoleum itself, there is almost no shade, and it is very hot in the middle of the day.
11. World Amber Museum
World Amber Museumis an incredible place to see beautiful examples of amber and learn about this fossilized resin. Even if you are not interested in visiting Santo Domingo museums, the spectacular exhibits here are worth seeing. For a very small entrance fee, an experienced English-speaking guide will guide you through the museum, walking through the exhibits that will explain how amber is formed, extracted and used. The amber pieces, which come in different shades, are illuminated from behind to reveal the fossils inside, which range from ants and termites to leaves and flowers. Some of the pieces have magnifying glasses, so you can get a detailed view of the fossils. Please note that the curved railing on the stairs to the second floor is made of pieces of amber enclosed in an acrylic shell. The Dominican Republic is well known for amber, which is almost always transparent here, giving it a glow that is not always found in amber. In Dominican amber, fossils can often be seen, even in very small pieces. There is a jewellery store attached to the museum where you can buy amber as well as larimar, but there is no pressure to buy. Location: Calle Arzobispo Of Merino 452.
12. Convento de Los Dominicos
While the Cathedral of the Primada de Americas attracts all the attention as the first cathedral in the New World, the Cathedral of the Convento de Los Dominico was built before that and is known as one of the oldest buildings on the American continent. Beginning around 1510 and commissioned at various stages until it was finally completed in 1531-32, the monastery later became an educational institution and eventually became the beginning of what is today the University of Santo Domingo. Location: Padre Bellini and Avenue Duarte.
