Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The highest concentration of sights are conveniently located within walking distance of
one another in the Zona Colonial. Surprisingly, for a city with 15km of Caribbean water-
front, Santo Domingo is more inland-oriented and the Malecón (Esplanade) has been de-
veloped haphazardly or neglected. One small spot that has been reclaimed for the public is
Playa Guibia
(Avs George Washington and Maximo Gomez), which has a beach area
(packed on weekends), a sandy volleyball court, a kids' playground, gym equipment and
free wi-fi access.
Zona Colonial
For those fascinated by the origin of the so-called New World - a dramatic story of the
first encounter between native people of the Americas and Europeans - the Zona Coloni-
al, listed as a Unesco World Heritage site, is a great place to explore. It is 11 square
blocks, a mix of cobblestone and pavement (the city is going block by block, cordoning
off and tearing up streets in an effort to improve drainage and bury electrical cables under-
ground), on the west bank of the Río Ozama, where the deep river meets the Caribbean
Sea.
Calle El Conde
, the main commercial artery, is lined with
casas de cambio
(money
changers); cafes; restaurants; shoe, clothing and jewelry stores; and vendors hawking
cheap souvenirs.
As might be expected, many of the structures in the Zona Colonial that still have their
16th-century walls have more recently altered facades and structural additions like new
floors and roofs. Keep your eyes open for the nooks and crannies and street scenes: small
pedestrian alleys, men playing dominoes at an aluminum folding-table set on the street.
These scenes, as much as the historical sites and buildings, make the Zona Colonial
unique.
