&nb sp; Welcome to
San Juan Puerto Rico
San Juan is the largest city in Puerto Rico. It is serviced by the Luis Munoz Marin International Airport which is a short drive from the ocean and the city central to the northwest. Just north of the airport is the Isla Verde beach area and its large, expensive casino hotels. Going west on route 26 you will drive through Atlantic View, Ocean Park, and then Condado. Past the Laugna del Condado lies Old San Juan and its narrow streets.
Old San Juan is built inside of the castle wall. The ramparts extend from San Cristobal on the east side to the turrets of El Morro guarding the straights to the west. The wall wraps around the point to the bay side. The walk between these two points follows the ridge crest with the Atlantic Ocean far below. This is a rugged coast with large waves rolling in from the north.
San Juan: The Capital
Its is known as “la ciudad amurallada “(the walled city). The actual city of San Juan was founded in 1521, but the original settlement of Caparra was founded 1508. San Juan is one of the biggest and best natural harbors in the Caribbean and is the second oldest city in the Americas.
San Juan is a major port and tourist resort of the West Indies and is the oldest city under the U.S flag. The metropolitan area known as San Juan has 3 distinct areas: Old San Juan, the Beach & Resort area, and other outlying communities, the most important: Rio Piedras, Hato Rey, Puerta de Tierra, and Santurce. Rio Piedras was founded in 1714 but became incorporated into San Juan in 1951.
San Juan is the largest processing center of the island, the metropolitan area has facilities for petroleum and sugar refining, brewing and distilling and produces cement, pharmaceuticals, metal products clothing, and tobacco. The port is one of the busiest in the Caribbean. San Juan is the country's financial capital, and many U.S. banks and corporations maintain offices or distributing centers there. San Juan is center of Caribbean shipping and is the 2nd largest sea port in the area (after New York City).
El Morro
is the main fort of the island. Begun in 1540 and completed in 1589. San Felipe del Morro was named in honor of King Phillip II. Most of the walls in the fort today were added later, in a period of tremendous construction from the 1760's-1780's. Rising 140 feet above the sea, its 18-foot-thick wall proved a formidable defense. It fell only once, in 1598, to a land assault by the Earl of Cumberland's forces. The fort is a maze of tunnels, dungeons, barracks, outposts and ramps. El Morro is studded with small, circular sentry boxes called "garitas" that have become a national symbol.
The views of San Juan Bay from El Morro are spectacular. The area was designated a National Historic Site in February, 1949 with 74 total acres. It has the distinction of being the largest fortification in the Caribbean. In 1992, the fortress was restored to its historical form in honor of the 500th anniversary of the discovery of Puerto Rico by Christopher Columbus. El Morro Fortress is a National Historic Site administered by the National Park Service.
During the early 16th century, San Juan was the point of departure of Spanish expeditions to charter or settle unknown parts of the New World. Its fortifications repulsed the English navigator Sir Francis Drake in 1595, as well as later attacks.
In 1983, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Heritage declared the Old City of San Juan as part of the World Heritage and Patrimony of the Humanity. This brought big changes in Puerto Rico. The tourism has grown and people now value our culture and our history.
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