Top 10 Things to do in San Juan, Puerto Rico

Consisting of 400 restored buildings from the 16th- and 17th-century Spanish colonial period, this area in San Juan is steeped in history with an old-world and romantic European charm.

This restored 19th-century esplanade is the place to begin your stroll through Old San Juan, because of its central location and its inexhaustible charm.

A bustling street full of shops and boutiques.

This massive 27-acre series of fortifications is the largest the Spanish built in the New World.

Built in 1540 and the site where the body of Ponce de Leon is entombed, the the Catedral de San Juan is an authentic and rare New World example of medieval architecture.

More than just an art museum, Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico hosts concerts and festivals as well. The Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico (MAPR), a non-for-profit organization, was inaugurated on July 1, 2000, as a legacy for the Puerto Rican people. The mission of the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico is to enrich the lives of its diverse audiences by making accessible and promoting the knowledge, appreciation, and enjoyment of visual arts from Puerto Rico and the world. The MAPR engages diverse communities to facilitate learning experiences about the visual arts through: the growth of a well-researched permanent collection exemplifying significant and representative examples of Puerto Rican art from the sixteenth century to the present; a dynamic program of exhibitions supported by engaging and exciting educational and cultural programs that collectively deepen the understanding of the role of the visual arts in the human experience and contribute to the creation of a curatorial legacy; documentation, research, interpretation, preservation, and conservation of the collection and the visual arts patrimony of Puerto Rico; and alliances with local, regional, and international museums and institutions to advance the knowledge of, access to, and understanding of the visual arts of the world.

Constructed to defend the San Juan coastline during the 17th and 18th centuries, this dramatic fortress rises 140 feet above the sea on a rocky promontory, and is composed of six huge levels of ramps, barracks, dungeons, turrets, towers and tunnels.

Plaza las Americas is the largest shopping mall in the Caribbean. It contains more than 300 stores, restaurants, a food court, and a cineplex offering first-run movies in English and Spanish.

An esplanade greets you as you walk towards the Fort San Felipe del Morro. Surrounded by grassy hills, the stone castle rises majestically from the headland. And while El Morro may be an impressive sight from land, it is a terrifying experience to encounter it head on by sea. And for many attackers, it was the very last thing they saw. This fortress has seen many battles over the centuries, from Sir Francis Drake's attack in 1595 to the 1898 Bombardment of San Juan by the US Navy. In 1539 King Charles I ordered the construction of San Felipe del Morro and other fortifications on the islet of San Juan. Over the years, Spanish, Italian, Irish and American engineers perfected San Juan's defense system, of which el Morro was an essential part. After crossing the stone bridge over the dry moat, you'll walk right into a spacious courtyard that harbor leads you into the castle's more "domestic" areas, such as the kitchen and the chapel. Nevertheless, this is just one of the six levels that form el Morro. On the upper level, you'll find the lighthouse that was restored by the American Coast Guard in 1908. One of the greatest things about this vantage point is that you can see most of San Juan and the bay across from it. Park rangers will guide you throughout the massive fortification, which still houses original cannons, ammunition, and many other objects used by the Spanish militia in Puerto Rico. El Morro was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1983, and is currently under the administration of the National Park Service.

Visitors to the Capitol can make a reservation for a guided tour. The history of the Capitol building began on February 7, 1907, when Don Luis Munoz Rivera, an important figure of the political history of Puerto Rico and legislator at the time, introduced House Bill 84 to the House of Delegates. Although the bill was passed and a neoclassical design had been chosen, the construction of the Capitol encountered several fiscal, economic and political difficulties which resulted in the work being suspended twice. Despite all difficulties encountered throughout the years, the Capitol building was finally inaugurated on February 11, 1929. On June 30, 1977, the Capitol of Puerto Rico was designated a Historic Landmark and on November 18, 1977, it was listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places.