Are you looking to explore the history of San Juan through the ages? There are a number of historical destinations in San Juan including the time-honored buildings, monuments, palaces, and parks where you can learn about the glorious past of San Juan. The presence of these historical sites and museums will take you on a walk through San Juan ‘s rich history.
If you are willing to have an in-depth historical information about San Juan, we recommend that you take a wonderful guided tour to cover the major historical attractions. Also, check the opening and closing time for each so that you can organize your time. Make sure that you go through the complete list of historical places in San Juan for a great trip!
Top Historical Places in San Juan
Let's witness the history of San Juan with these top historical places - monuments and landmarks:
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A part of the city filled with history, Old San Juan is a reminder of the rich influence of the Spanish culture that has inhabited it from a long time. The city is characterized by its narrow, blue cobblestone streets and flat-roofed brick and stone buildings dating back to the 16th and 17th century when Puerto Rico was a Spanish possession. The Casa Blanca was the first fortified structure bui...Read more
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San Juan was Spain’s prized possessions mainly because of the access it gave to trade routes in the Caribbean. Hence the Spaniards spent a lot of time fortifying the city. The national historic site is just one of 400 such sites in Puerto Rico and it comprises of La Fortaleza, Castillo San Cristobal, Castillo San Felipe del Morro, City Walls of Old San Juan and Fortín San Juan de l...Read more
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Castillo De San Cristobal
(2093 Votes)Known as Fort San Cristobal, it is the largest fortification in San Juan and comes under one of the monuments of San Juan National Historical Site. Although the order to build it was given as far back as 1625 its construction began only a century after in 1765 and was completed in 1783. The Spaniards were attacked countless times by the English and the Dutch and San Cristobal proved as a staunc...Read more -
Castillo San Felipe Del Morro
(956 Votes)Dedicated to King Philip II, the castle comes under one of the monuments of San Juan National Historical Site. Just as its counterpart on the north-eastern side del Morro too was a military fortress charged with protecting San Juan. With two fortresses on either side of the bay San Juan was powerfully protected however the del Morro was constructed a century before Cristobal. It’s also mo...Read more -
San Juan Cathedral
(856 Votes)Also known as Catedral de San Juan Bautista, it is second oldest Cathedral in the Americas. Commissioned to be built in 1521 it was destroyed by a hurricane and later rebuilt and reshaped many times over to its current shape in 1917. It is believed by many to be Puerto Rico's greatest religious site. Being located tight next to the sea gate, the foreign dignitaries from the ancient times were l...Read more -
The Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery, located in Old San Juan has a charm of its own. To its west is the del Morro and to the east is La Perla. The cemetery is divided into two parts, The Old and The New. The Old part has some of the most prominent personalities resting from the Puerto Rican history. The artworks on the tombstones are quite elaborate and intricate. This colonial ...Read more
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Museo De Las Americas
(241 Votes)Located in Old San Juan in an even older quarter in Ballaja the Museum occupies the second floor of this three storey building. It houses cover arts and exhibits from the Pre Columbian era explaining the evolution of the Americas. It includes a section named ‘El indio en América’ explaining about the 22 indigenous tribes in America. Others include the cover arts for slave tra...Read more -
La Fortaleza
(469 Votes)Puerto Rico is the first island that anyone would come across when on a voyage from Europe to America. It was captured by the Spaniards in the late 15th century and was their prized possession as it gave access to all the trade routes between the Old world and the New. La Fortaleza was actually the first fortification built in San Juan between 1533 and 1540 right near the shores overlooking the...Read more -
Parque De Las Palomas
(250 Votes)This is a nice relaxing place to enjoy the view as well as for the sheer pleasure of feeding the pigeons. The park is right next to a chapel. Not much is left of it but ruins. However according to a local legend the chapel was built to commemorate a miracle. Many locals gather here simply to hope and pray. A very picturesque park, with thick old intertwined tress, benches, people playing music ...Read more -
Museo De Casa Blanca
(101 Votes)Casa Blanca or the ‘White House’ was the first building built in 1521. It was built as a house for Ponce de Leon but he died before it could be completed. His descendants stayed till the 18th century. It was later a military station during the Spanish American Wars. It was in 1967 the Puerto Rican government took over its maintenance and later declared it as historical monument. Now...Read more -
La Rogativa is a famous bronze statue located near La Puerta. Four in number, it was completed in 1971 by an artist named Lindsay Dean. Each of them are about 12 ft. tall standing in an old sentry box and in front of them is a superb view of the San Juan Bay. They were built to commemorate an old legend. When in 1797 the English troops led by Sir Abercrombie attacked Puerto Rico, they took cont...Read more
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Fort San Jeronimo
(224 Votes)Built in 1609 the Jeronimo fort served as a great fortification on the eastern side of the city. In 1797 the English forces attacked the fort with about 60 ship. Under the leadership of the then Lt. Col. Don Teodmiro del Torro the Spanish troops resisted and fought for two full weeks. They were successful in defeating the brits but lost the fort due to constant bombardment. It was later rebuilt...Read more -
Formerly known as the Santo Domingo Square, the Plaza De San Jose was built during the 16th century and it kept its rural charm till the 19th century. Located by the San Jose Church, the Plaza De San Jose is famous for the Ponce de Leon statue, the index finger of which is pointed towards the original settlement of Caparra. The structure is built from the infused steel collected from the Englis...Read more