Distrito Nacional

The province

Get to know Distrito Nacional

The Distrito Nacional is the capital of the Dominican Republic, the city of Santo Domingo itself, on the west bank of the Ozama River, facing the Caribbean Sea. Founded by the Spanish at the end of the 15th century, it is the oldest European city in the Americas still inhabited, and today it is a metropolis of commerce, government and universities.

This guide covers the city of Santo Domingo, the arrival point for the destination of the same name. The Colonial Zone, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1990, contains the continent’s first buildings: the Catedral Primada, the Alcázar de Colón, the Fortaleza Ozama and the Museo de las Casas Reales, linked by cobblestone streets like Calle Las Damas and the pedestrian street El Conde.

Outside the historic center, the Malecón runs along the sea for kilometers, with hotels and the Caribbean breeze. The Plaza de la Cultura brings together the Museo del Hombre Dominicano, the National Theater and the Museum of Modern Art, and the Jardín Botánico Nacional is a large green area in the north of the city. Neighborhoods like Gazcue, residential and leafy, and Piantini and Naco, modern, show other sides of the capital.

Santo Domingo is also the city of merengue and bachata played live, of corner bars called colmados, and of a cuisine that ranges from sancocho and mangú (plantain mash) to chef-driven restaurants.