Santo Domingo

The Dominican capital stretches along the Caribbean coast, combining wide avenues, cobbled colonial quarters, and high-rise buildings along the Ozama River waterfront. Palm-lined promenades run through residential neighborhoods with colorful facades, while business districts with office towers and shopping centers rise behind the old quarter.

Bartholomew Columbus founded the settlement in 1496 on the eastern riverbank, establishing the first permanent European administrative town in the New World. Spanish expeditions launched from here explored and colonized further portions of the continent.

Merengue and bachata rhythms fill the streets of the old quarter, where locals gather in public squares to dance and street musicians shape the daily tempo. Bars and restaurants keep island cuisine alive, serving rum and fried tostones at all hours of the day.

The metro connects the main districts and helps with navigation through the sprawling city. Public buses and shared taxis, called guaguas, serve residential neighborhoods where stops are often unmarked.

The Alcázar de Colón from 1510 remains the oldest surviving viceregal residence on the American continent, still displaying original rooms furnished from that era. Coral stone forms the load-bearing walls, a material quarried directly from the sea at the time.

Location: Distrito Nacional

Inception: 1496

Founders: Bartholomew Columbus

Elevation above the sea: 14 m

Part of: Greater Santo Domingo

Address: Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Website: https://adn.gob.do

GPS coordinates: 18.48020,-69.94211

Latest update: December 3, 2025 06:58