The Colonial Zone
Landmarks of Santo Domingo.
Five hundred years of firsts, gathered in a few walkable blocks — the great sites of the Americas' oldest city, each one a stop on the tour.
The Colonial Zone
Five hundred years of firsts, gathered in a few walkable blocks — the great sites of the Americas' oldest city, each one a stop on the tour.
What you'll stand before
The Colonial Zone of Santo Domingo is a UNESCO World Heritage site and the first European settlement in the Americas. Our day tour from Punta Cana brings you to its most important monuments — the first cathedral, the Columbus family palace, the oldest paved street in the New World — and to the limestone caverns of Los Tres Ojos on the way home. Choose any landmark below to read its story.
The first cathedral built in the Americas, consecrated 1540.
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The seat of Spanish colonial power and the first high court in the Americas.
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An 18th-century Jesuit church that now honours the heroes of the nation.
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Diego Columbus's viceregal palace, raised in 1514 without a single nail.
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The oldest paved street in the New World, laid for the ladies of the court.
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Three crystalline lagoons in an open limestone cavern, sacred to the Taíno.
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The colonial heart of the city, shaded by laurels and watched by Columbus in bronze.
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The oldest standing European military fortress in the Americas.
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The first hospital built in the Americas, now preserved as open ruins.
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The first monastery in the Americas — ruins that now ring with live merengue.
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