Fort

Most visitors make a beeline for Fort, the original site of the 16th-century fortifications built by the Portuguese in Colombo. The district is also the city’s financial center and is home to the President’s House, the head of state's official residence. Several remnants of the city’s colonial past line this grid of streets, including the Grand Oriental Hotel, the Old Dutch Hospital, the red-brick Cargills Department Store, the Old Parliament House and the wood-ceilinged St. Peter’s Church.