The Americas' oldest European city — Columbus's tomb, bachata birthplace and the Caribbean's most intact colonial zone
Santo Domingo is the capital of the Dominican Republic and the oldest continuously inhabited European settlement in the Americas (founded 1496) — a fact visible in the Zona Colonial, a UNESCO World Heritage Site of cobblestoned streets, Renaissance palaces, and the first cathedral, university, and hospital built in the New World. The Alcázar de Colón (Diego Columbus's palace) and the Catedral Primada de América anchor a colonial district that rewards several days of exploration. The city sprawls far beyond the colonial core — Malecón seafront, upscale Piantini, the raucous street-food culture…
Bartholomew Columbus (Christopher's brother) founded Santo Domingo in 1496 on the east bank of the Ozama River; it was moved to the west bank in 1498 after a hurricane destroyed the original settlement. The city served as the base for Spanish conquest of the Americas — Hernán Cortés left from here for Mexico, Diego Velázquez from here for Cuba, Juan Ponce de León for Puerto Rico. Haiti invaded and controlled the entire island from 1822 to 1844; Dominican independence came not from Spain (already gone since 1821) but from Haiti, making the DR the only country in the Americas that celebrates in…