Info about Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico cities
When one goes to Puerto Rico, the natural wonder are the main attractions. However, its cities also represent great centres of interest for tourists and they are a welcome change from the Puerto Rican beaches, which are however, mesmerizing.
San Juan is the capital city od Puerto Rico and it has a population of 442,447. San Juan is also called “La Ciudad Amurallada”, which is translated by the walled city. It was founded in 1521, its name previously being the name of the whole island, the one that was given by Cristopher Columbus himself. San Juan is an excellent natural harbour and is ranked as the second in the top of the oldest cities founde by Europeans in America. Taking into consideration its long history, there are some impressive sightseeing spots in San Juan.
Old San Juan is a neighberhood of 465 years oldwhich was initially conceived to be a military stronghold. Its has kept some of its original elements such as the blue stone the streets are paved with. These were brought from Spain on ships and are called cobbles of adoquine. Moreover, about 400 buildings dating back to the 16th and 17th century were restored and are now main tourist attraction. However, there were made many changes to the original city and now we can find here shopping centers and gambling casinos.
There are more Plazas in San Juan and each has its own point of interest: Plaza de San Jose, Plaza del Quinto Centenario, Plaza de armas, which is the main square of Old SAN Juan, Plaza de Colon, Plazuela de la Rogativa and Plaza de Hostos. The city also has four former fort: Castillo de San Cristobal, El Moro, Fuerte San Geronimo and Santa Elena Battery.
There are many old beautiful buildings in San Juan among which we can count: La Fortaleza or the Palacio de Santa Catalina that was built between 1533 and 1540; Alcadia, Dan Juan’s City hall that was founded in 1602 and finished in 1789; El Capitolio, Cathedral of San Juan, Iglesia de San Juan ands Capilla del Cristo.
More museums, parks and other attractions are found in San Juan.
Ponce is the second largest city in Puerto Rico with a population of 195,000 people. Other names for this city founded in the 17th century are La Perla del Sur, which means The pearls of the South and La Ciudad De Los Leones, meaning City of Lions. Just like San Juan, Ponce has a long history, even being capital of the Sapin’s southern region until 1898 when it was invaded by US.
Main Attractions is Ponce are Parque de Bombas that was built in 1883 and has a fire house on its territory, Museum of Puerto Rican Music, Csa Alcadia, Ponce Museum of Art, La Guancha Paseo Tablado, castillo Serales, Tibes Indian Ceremonial Center, Hacienda Buena Vista and a lot others.
These two cities with their history and cultures visible on the streets represent some worth to visit location. The tourists that have come here never regretted.