San Juan, Puerto Rico

Old San Juan is the area to visit to experience the 500-year-old buildings and fortresses. Its narrow streets are paved with the original adoquines or stone bricks laid down when the city was built. The original Alcaldía or City Hall is still in use, although many of the administrative functions have been moved to more modern facilities in Hato Rey. The patron saint of the city of San Juan is San Juan Bautista, St John the Baptist, celebrated on June 24 each year.

Old San Juan borders the San Juan Bay, reputed to be the busiest ocean port terminal in the Caribbean. Cruise ships bring thousands of visitors weekly to its shores while cargo ships load and unload their wares in nearby Puerto Nuevo. Old San Juan's narrow, brick-lined streets lead to some of the oldest structures in the New World: La Princesa, a jail in Spanish times, now headquarters of the Puerto Rico Tourism Company; La Fortaleza, which dates back to 1540, is the oldest governor's mansion in the New World; Fuerte San Felipe del Morro, commonly known simply as El Morro, is a majestic Spanish fort with numerous secret tunnels and dungeons. Numerous sixteenth and seventeenth century buildings house important museums and churches.

Old San Juan.  is no longer the center of the wholesale and retail trade in the Metropolitan Area. Much of the commercial activity has moved to locations with better traffic access. Even so, there is considerable retail activity along the main streets in Old San Juan: Fortaleza and San Francisco streets. Artisan shops and jewelry stores line these streets, mostly for the benefit of the intense tourist traffic.