After arriving in from Haiti, we dropped off our stuff at a hostel in the Zona Colonial district of Santo Domingo. Zona Colonial is the oldest city of the New World as the oldest working church and the oldest military installation of the New World can be found here. This is also the very city where Christopher Columbus wanted to be buried.
Zona Colonial is best explored by a leisurely stroll, where you’ll notice the seamless marriage between beautifully maintained historical buildings and boutqiue modern-day restaurants.
We started our walk appropriately at the church.
The most western point of Zona Colonial ends at Parque Independencia, where the 3 founding heroes of the Dominican Republic are buried in a mausoleum:
Then do an about-face and head down Calle de Conde, the main pedestrian street of Zona Colonial where all the action takes place. It’ll remind you of the “Las Ramblas” of Barcelona, but on a much smaller scale:
Then turn north once you hit Parque Colon, where you’ll see a few amazing building facades to your left and your right before you hit Plaza Espana:
We decided to head inside Panteon Nacional, where many of DR’s most important dignitaries are memorialized:
Then it was back out again towards Plaza Espana:
In Plaza Espana you’ll find some of Santo Domingo’s best restaurants. Pick one (we chose Pat’e Palo) and feast away at some of the best fine dining in the Caribbean:
Not a bad way to spend our first evening in the Dominican Republic.
- At time of posting in DR BALAGUER INTL, it was 31 °C - Humidity: 66% | Wind Speed: 10km/hr | Cloud Cover: scattered clouds