San Juan is the capital and largest city in Puerto Rico, its most
important seaport and the industrial, economic, cultural and tourist
center of the island.
San Juan is the capital of the US
territory of Puerto Rico, located east of the Dominican Republic.
The city is in the northeast of the island. The University of Puerto
Rico, the largest in the country, is based here. San Juan was
founded by the Spanish in 1521. The old town of San Juan has been on
the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1983. The city wall, built
around 1630, follows the contours of the peninsula and offers a
wonderful view. In Old San Juan, as in other early colonial cities,
most of the streets are arranged at right angles. The narrow streets
are lined with colorful houses. There are two free trolley buses for
tourists. They take their guests from the Felipe del Morro fortress
to the port of San Juan within an hour. For tourists, the most
important streets are the Fortaleza, a shopping street, and Santo
Christo, which leads from the cathedral via the Quincentenial Plaza
to the Felipe del Morro fortress.
Currently, the Municipality of San Juan is made up of eighteen
barrios (districts), with the San Juan Antiguo barrio, made up
of the islet of San Juan, being the first to be established
within this municipality in 1521. At that time, the municipality
had a territorial surface of approximately 2.6 km². Later, in
1863, the first capital suburb known as Santurce was annexed,
increasing the territory of the capital city by more than 600%
to 16.2 km². This barrio was part of the then diluted
municipality of San Mateo de Cangrejos. The other barrios of San
Mateo, namely Cangrejos and Hato Rey, were divided between the
municipalities of Carolina and Río Piedras respectively. Hato
Rey is the financial district of the city of San Juan.
The last major expansion of the municipality of San Juan
occurred in 1951 through Legislative Project 177, where as a
result of the referendum promoted by the then governor, Luis
Muñoz Marín, the Municipality of Río Piedras was annexed to the
Municipality of San Juan. In this way, the territory of the
capital increased by about 107.6 km² to its current size of
123.9 km², which is equivalent to a growth of 765%.
Old San Juan is the name given to the historic district of San Juan. It is located on the Isleta de San Juan, which is connected to the main island of Puerto Rico by bridges. The city is characterized by its cobblestone streets and colorful buildings that date back to the 16th and 17th centuries, when the island was a Spanish colony. The small island, which comprises an area of 47 square miles (120 km²), is also home to the working-class neighborhood of Puerta de Tierra and most of Puerto Rico's central government buildings, including the Commonwealth Capitol. The main central part of the city is characterized by narrow streets made of blue cobblestones and picturesque colonial buildings, some of which date back to the 16th and 17th centuries. Sections of the old city are surrounded by massive walls and several notable defensive structures and forts. These include the 16th-century Fort San Felipe del Morro and the 17th-century Fort San Cristóbal, both part of the San Juan National Historic Site, and the 16th-century Palacio de Santa Catalina, also known as La Fortaleza, which serves as the governor's mansion. These fortifications, as well as the defensive wall of Old San Juan, were named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983.
1 La Fortaleza . San Juan's oldest fortress and now the official
residence of the Governor of Puerto Rico.
2
Castillo de San Felipe del Morro
(Fortaleza colosal de San Felipe del Morro) . The fortress is one of the
largest of its kind in all of North and South America and is a UNESCO
World Heritage Site.
3 Castillo San Cristobal (Castillo San
Cristóbal) . The sprawling fortress, which offers fantastic views of San
Juan Bay, has also been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
4
Plaza de Armas. The solemn character of the Alcaldía's grand staircase
leading to the mayor's office is unique among San Juan's palaces.
Parque de las Palomas. Pigeon Park, the perfect place to relax after a
city tour, with good views of San Juan Bay.
Catedral de San Juan
Bautista
5 Museo del Niño. Collection of dolls and other toys.
6 Museo de
Arte de Puerto Rico, 299 Avenida de Diego, Santurce, Puerto Rico 00909 .
Art museum.
Museum of Colonial Architecture in San Juan
7 Don Q
Rum Museum
8 Museo de la Farmacia. Exhibits from 19th century
pharmacies.
9 Museo de las Americas, 861 SANTA FE DR. Tel.: +1 303
571 4401, E-Mail: moran@museo.org . Visitors can experience the
centuries-long development of cultures in the New World. The museum also
contains an extensive collection of carnival costumes from Peru,
Guatemala, Mexico, Venezuela, Cuba and the Dominican Republic.
El Yunque rainforest (Bosque nacional El Yunque). In the rainforest
near San Juan there are around 240 species of plants and animals,
waterfalls, streams and hiking trails. You can go horseback riding,
hiking, cycling and much more.
Tour coconut revolution 101. The
coconuts revolution tour takes place in Loiza, not too far from San
Juan. On this tour you learn something about the local fruits and
plants. The highlight of this tour is climbing a coconut tree on your
own with instruction or assistance and drinking coconut milk from the
picked coconuts.
By plane
Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (formerly
Isla Verde International Airport, IATA: SJU), Carolina, 5 km
west of San Juan on Highway 26, exit B8 (bus: D53 (no large
luggage allowed): San Juan Airport - Isla Verde - Condado (Ave.
Ashford) - Old San Juan - Convention Center. There are fixed
flat rates for taxi rides depending on fare zones in the city
center.) . In 2024 there will only be direct flights from Europe
with Iberia from Madrid. It is well connected with the east
coast of the USA and some places on the Latin American mainland.
Terminal A only handles Jet Blue flights. The departure areas D
and the former E have been merged as D; there are few services
here. The new C has the better restaurants and shops. After the
security checks, you can reach the furthest gates in 3-4
minutes. There is a lounge in A and B/C (6 a.m. to 8 p.m.). The
one in B is more geared towards business travelers. The Wi-Fi
“SJUFreeWiFi” can be used free of charge for one hour.
The
San Juan Airport Hotel (4-star) is at Terminal D. Even if you
are not a hotel guest, you can leave your luggage here (for a
fee).
Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport (Isla Grande
Airport, IATA: SIG). Mainly used for general aviation. Smaller
commercial planes from regional airlines (Vieques Air Link and
Flamenco) take off from here to the islands of Vieques, Culebra
and a few others.
By ship
The port of San Juan is
located in the south of the city and within walking distance of
the old town. It is on the route of numerous cruise ships on
their route through the northern Caribbean or on the way to the
Panama Canal.
The main parts of the old town of San Juan, including the cruise
port, are compact and can be explored on foot, taking into
account the heavy car traffic.
As in most US cities,
public transport in San Juan is underdeveloped. However, an
integrated network has been created.
There is a
subway-like suburban train, Tren Urbano, which will only open up
areas of the city that are relevant for tourists when all four
routes are complete. Operating hours are 5:30 a.m. to 11:15 p.m.
There are value cards (boleto TU) that can be charged at any
stop.
You have to pay the exact amount on buses. In the
line numbers, an E in front of it means "express" (every 10-25
minutes), T means feeder to the train or ferry. C Circulación
means short routes in the surrounding area (every 20-35 minutes)
and D (Distribución), less frequent lines in the region.
Ferries
Ferry terminal Old San Juan, Calle Marina. Ferry
access is barrier-free. Price: cheap, but there are different
prices for small luggage: crates of drinks, parasols, bicycles,
surfboards, etc. last change: July 2024 info edit
Cataño
pier (Terminal de Lancha Cataño), 12-15 min. travel time, daily
5:45 a.m. to just after 8 p.m.
Hato Rey pier. Connection
to Tren Urbano Hato Rey, (stop number: 2-TU). Buses C1, C22,
D15, T2, T4, T21.
1 La Fortaleza . San Juan's oldest fortress and now the official
residence of the Governor of Puerto Rico.
2 Castillo de San
Felipe del Morro (Fortaleza colosal de San Felipe del Morro) .
The fortress is one of the largest of its kind in all of North
and South America and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
3
Castillo San Cristobal (Castillo San Cristóbal) . The sprawling
fortress, which offers fantastic views of San Juan Bay, has also
been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
4 Plaza de Armas.
The solemn character of the Alcaldía's grand staircase leading
to the mayor's office is unique among San Juan's palaces.
Parque de las Palomas. Pigeon Park, the perfect place to relax
after a city tour, with good views of San Juan Bay.
Catedral
de San Juan Bautista
Museums
5 Museo del Niño.
Collection of dolls and other toys.
6 Museo de Arte de Puerto
Rico, 299 Avenida de Diego, Santurce, Puerto Rico 00909 . Art
museum.
Museum of Colonial Architecture in San Juan
7 Don
Q Rum Museum
8 Museo de la Farmacia. Exhibits from 19th
century pharmacies.
9 Museo de las Americas, 861 SANTA FE DR.
Tel.: +1 303 571 4401, E-Mail: moran@museo.org . Visitors can
experience the centuries-long development of cultures in the New
World. The museum also contains an extensive collection of
carnival costumes from Peru, Guatemala, Mexico, Venezuela, Cuba
and the Dominican Republic.
In 1493, on his second voyage to America, Christopher Columbus
found the island now known as Puerto Rico and named it San Juan
Bautista.
San Juan quickly became the most important
Spanish military post in America. In 1508, Juan Ponce de León
was appointed by the Spanish government as the island's first
governor. It was he who founded the original settlement,
Caparra, west of the current metropolitan area. The city was
built on an islet around 1521. Spain, to defend the island from
attempts at conquest by the English and Dutch, built the
military forts of San Felipe del Morro and San Cristóbal. Both
constructions are now tourist attractions. In 1595, the British
Francis Drake was defeated in San Juan Bay by the cannons of
Morro, during what would be his last expedition against America,
dying shortly after being defeated again by the Spanish in
Panama.
Over the centuries, Puerto Rico's military
strength became an economic force, resulting in the only island
in the Caribbean where industry and commerce surpassed
agricultural production.
In 1898, Puerto Rico became a
war chest of the United States during the Spanish-American War.
Since then, Puerto Rico has been under U.S. control. In 1917,
the Jones Act granted Puerto Ricans U.S. citizenship, and the
island became an official U.S. territory, with U.S. governors
appointed by the president.
In 1948, the first national
elections were held and Puerto Ricans elected their first
governor, and in 1952, Puerto Rico was granted its status as a
Commonwealth.
Old San Juan was built as a military
outpost for the Spanish military forces. The area covers seven
square blocks of narrow cobblestone streets lined with old
colonial houses with their balconies and patios. The forts and
walls of Old San Juan are among the best preserved in the
hemisphere. The area is filled with old houses, churches and
plazas that represent the most cherished architecture in the
Caribbean.
La Garita, a sentry box at Castillo San Felipe
del Morro, has come to symbolize Puerto Rico and Old San Juan.
The name of the city of San Juan has undergone a curious change
over time. When the Spanish arrived in the country on November
19, 1493, Admiral Christopher Columbus named it San Juan
Bautista. Years later, the conquistador Juan Ponce de León,
while exploring the northern coast, discovered a wide bay that
he called "Puerto Rico." Over time, the names were exchanged:
the island was called Puerto Rico, and the bay, the port and the
city, San Juan.
The Municipality of San Juan is located
in the northeastern region of the coastal plains, north of Aguas
Buenas and Caguas; east of Guaynabo and Bayamón; and west of
Carolina and Trujillo Alto.
Old San Juan occupies the
western shore of a rocky islet at the mouth of San Juan Bay.
During the 19th century, major population centers emerged beyond
the walls of the old city and on the main island, and merged
with existing clusters south and east of Old San Juan. As a
result, the city is now composed of a variety of neighborhoods
or barrios.
East of Old San Juan lies the residential and
tourist area of Condado, on land once owned by Pablo Ubarri
Capetillo, a Spanish railroad builder and Count of San José de
Santurce under the Spanish colonial period. Beaches such as
Ocean Park are popular with swimmers, surfers, and kitesurfers
and line the district's Atlantic coastline.
Near Condado
is the area of Santurce Centro and Miramar. Miramar is
primarily a residential area located south of the Condado
Lagoon. Adjacent to Miramar is the old Miraflores neighborhood,
formerly a drained banana plantation and landfill where Puerto
Rico's first airport, Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport
(Isla Grande Airport), was built. Miramar hosts the Puerto Rico
Convention Center, Hotels, and the newly opened T Mobile
District and Coca Cola Music Hall, as well as some of the ship
docks of the Port of San Juan.
Santurce, originally
called “San Mateo de Cangrejos,” was the destination for freed
African slaves during the city’s early days. After Pablo Ubarri
requested permission to link Santurce to San Juan via streetcar
in 1878, the municipality was split into three parts and its
main town was joined to the city and renamed Santurce (Santurtzi
in the Basque language). Santurce is home to the Museum of Art
of Puerto Rico, the Museum of Contemporary Art of Puerto Rico,
the Luis A. Ferré Fine Arts Center, and most of the city’s
theaters.
South of Santurce is Hato Rey, which was the
cattle ranch of the Royal Government (hence its name, “the
king’s herd”) around the 16th century. Hato Rey is currently the
financial center of the island and the Caribbean. A section of
this district is referred to as the Golden Mile (actually 0.47
miles in length), due to the large number of national and
international banks and companies located there.
In the
southern part of the city is the largely residential area of
Río Piedras. Río Piedras used to be a separate municipality,
founded in the mid-1850s, home to sugarcane plantations and the
property of some of San Juan's wealthiest residents (as well as
their working-class staff). Spanish colonial governors also had
their summer homes there, on the land that eventually gave way
to the main campus of the University of Puerto Rico. In 1951,
the municipalities of San Juan and Río Piedras were merged to
form the current perimeter of San Juan. Río Piedras is home to
the renamed Plaza del Mercado and the San Juan Botanical Garden,
and has the largest area in the municipality of San Juan.
San Juan enjoys an average annual temperature of 27.2 degrees Celsius (81 °F); although temperatures of 32 degrees Celsius (90 °F) or more are not uncommon during the summer, especially if the winds come from the south. The temperature can drop to 18 degrees Celsius (64 °F) during the winter, although the average winter temperature is 25.3 degrees Celsius (78 °F). Since 1898, the lowest temperature recorded was 15.6 degrees Celsius (60 °F) in 1995. Rainfall is fairly evenly distributed throughout the year, but the months of January, February, and March are typically the driest.
According to the 2010 census, 395,326 people resided
in San Juan. The population density was 1,983.45 inhabitants/km². Of the
395,326 inhabitants, San Juan was made up of 72.7% white, 11.9% African
American, 0.5% Amerindian, 0.5% Asian, 9% of some other race, and 5.3%
belonged to two or more races. Of the total population, 98.19% were
Hispanic or Latino of any race.
San Juan is the most populated
city and has the highest population density in the Metropolitan Area and
in all of Puerto Rico. The population, however, has experienced a
decrease in recent decades due to migration to adjacent municipalities.
From 1899 to 1950, the municipality of San Juan excluded what until
then was the Municipality of Río Piedras. For this reason, during this
period the population, land area and population density data only refer
to the neighborhoods of San Juan Antiguo and Santurce.
The former
Municipality of Río Piedras, incorporated into San Juan in 1951, was the
third most populated city in Puerto Rico at the time of annexation. Its
strategic location south of the capital served as a meeting point for
all the main transportation routes on the Island and as a geographical
prelude to San Juan. This was only one of the factors that drove its
dramatic urban development during the 20th century, reflected in the
largest population increase observed in any region in all of Puerto Rico
during this period. The population of this former municipality prior to
annexation and according to the latter is shown in the following
comparative table.
San Juan experienced significant economic growth after
World War II, a period in which the city experienced an industrial
revolution. The economy is based primarily on companies engaged in the
manufacturing of various products, including: chemicals (chlorine and
household cleaning products), medicines, rum and other alcoholic
beverages, fertilizers, power tools, electronics, plastics, textiles,
and food products. Tourism is also a key industry that benefits from San
Juan's proximity to Puerto Rico's main airport, the Luis Muñoz Marín
International Airport. The city's main tourist center is located in the
Condado district where there are numerous luxury hotels.
The
walled city is home to numerous cafes, art galleries, museums,
beautifully restored buildings, and unique shops.
The new part of
the city is home to prestigious banks such as Banco Popular de Puerto
Rico, Oriental Bank, Firstbank, Banco Santander, Scotiabank, Citibank,
and others.
In addition, Plaza Las Américas, the largest shopping
mall in the Caribbean, is located here.
These are some of the cultural events that we can find
in San Juan:
International Folk Festival - January
Musical Theater
Festival - January
San Sebastián Street Festival - January
Casals
Festival - February
Puerto Rican Theater Festival - March
Puerto
Rican Music Festival - May
National Troubadour Competition - May
San Juan Bautista Patron Saint Festival - June
Summer Festival - June
Bay Festival - July
Ceramics Festival - September
Children's
Cultural Festival - September
National Cuatro Competition - December
Universities
San Juan is home to many Puerto Rican
higher education institutions, such as the Río Piedras and Medical
Sciences campuses of the University of Puerto Rico. Other institutions
located in San Juan include the Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, the
Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico, the Metropolitan University, the
metropolitan campus of the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico,
Carlos Albizu University, the Evangelical Seminary of Puerto Rico, and
the Center for Advanced Studies of Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. There
are numerous smaller centers in the city, such as the ICPR Junior
College, the Institute of Banking and Commerce, and the International
Junior College of Santurce. There are also several technical schools,
including the Technological College of San Juan, the Liceo de Artes y
Ciencias, the Ramírez College of Business and Technology, and the Puerto
Rico Technical Junior College. In the field of artistic education,
mention should be made of the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico and
the School of Plastic Arts of Puerto Rico.
Post-World War II technological advances in aircraft
development, along with the island's climate and natural environment,
have led to San Juan becoming the island's tourist center, indirectly
promoting the rest of the Caribbean to worldwide fame over the past
sixty years. Today, San Juan has numerous hotels, museums, historic
buildings, restaurants, beaches, and shopping centers, with numerous
tourist attractions both inside and outside of Old San Juan.
Tourist attractions in Old San Juan:
Parque de las Palomas
Capilla
del Cristo
Castillo San Felipe del Morro
Fuerte San Cristóbal
La Fortaleza (Palace of Santa Catalina)
Casa Alcaldía
Casa de
España, social center founded in 1914.
Plaza de Armas of San Juan
El Capitolio
Catedral de San Juan Bautista
Archbishopric of San
Juan
Museo Pablo Casals
Museum of Art and History of San Juan
Casa Blanca (house of the first Spanish governor of Puerto Rico, Juan
Ponce de León, when the island was a Spanish possession)
Telúrico
Totem
Cuartel de Ballajá
Colegio de Párvulos (first Catholic
school for primary education in Puerto Rico; still operating)
Cementerio Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis
Plaza de la Uvas, Paseo de
los Enamorados, near the Capitol of San Juan
Outside Old San
Juan:
The Cañuelo
Cockfighting Club
Laguna del Condado
San
Juan Botanical Garden
José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum
Hato Rey
Condado
Isla Verde
River Piedras
In San Juan, as in the rest of Puerto Rico, the most popular sports
are basketball and baseball, with soccer being a sport that is much less
popular among Puerto Ricans. The teams based in the city have had
notable success in the various competitions. The Cangrejeros de Santurce
stand out in basketball, winning the National Superior Basketball
Championship in the 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2003 seasons. The
Cangrejeros section also stands out in baseball, along with the
Senadores de San Juan team, which together have won the Roberto Clemente
Professional Baseball League championship a total of seventeen times.
The Cangrejeros are in third place among the teams with the most
Caribbean Series championships, having in their showcases the tournament
editions of 1951, 1953, 1955, 1993 and 2000.
On the other hand,
the city has hosted numerous events within the sports community, such as
the X Central American and Caribbean Games, the 1974 World Basketball
Championship, the 1979 Pan American Games or three rounds of the 2006,
2009 and 2013 World Baseball Classic. It has also hosted the Caribbean
Series on nine occasions and the FIBA Americas Championship on five.
Major League Baseball's Montreal Expos played 22 home games at Hiram
Bithorn Stadium from 2003-2004, considering a franchise in the city, but
later moved to Washington, D.C. to become the current Washington
Nationals.
The newly built $28 million San Juan Natatorium is
beginning to spark interest in swimming on the island, and serves as a
winter training facility for top schools and universities in the
continental United States, including the United States Military Academy
at West Point and the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis.
In July 2007, the San Juan Golf Academy and Driving Range built the
city's first and only 9-hole golf course in the Puerto Nuevo area.