The Essential Guide to Santo Domingo
As the oldest continuously inhabited European settlement in the New World, Santo Domingo (initially called Nuevo Isabela) set the bar for future colonial cities in the Americas. Along its Calle Las Damas—the oldest paved street in the Americas—visitors will find an array of 16th-century buildings, including the Alcázar de Colón, the Museo de las Casas Reales, and the Fortaleza Ozama, built to protect the entrance to the harbor. Also worth seeing is the former residence of explorer Hernán Cortés and the Basilica Cathedral of Santa María la Menor, which features a cannonball lodged in the roof from a battle between the French and the British in 1809.