Luxury hotels in San Juan

San Juan guide

Old San Juan: El Morro and the blue cobblestones

Five centuries of history in pastel streets, Spanish forts above the Atlantic and the flavours of Puerto Rico.

Old San Juan, founded in 1521, is a walled town of pastel houses and blue-tinted cobblestones, and the Castillo San Felipe del Morro, guarding the bay entrance, is its most cited sight. The forts and walls form a UNESCO World Heritage Site with San Juan's La Fortaleza.

Walk the Paseo del Morro along the walls, visit the San Juan Cathedral and the Castillo San Cristóbal, and eat mofongo in a local restaurant. Condado and Isla Verde have the city's beaches, and El Yunque is about an hour away.

Puerto Rican food and the Bacardí distillery

Puerto Rican cuisine is one of San Juan's most cited pleasures: mofongo of mashed plantain, alcapurrias from the kiosks of Piñones, and the whole roast pig of the lechoneras of Guavate, in the mountains. San Juan claims to be the birthplace of the piña colada, created in the 1950s.

Across the bay in Cataño, the Casa Bacardí, one of the largest rum distilleries in the world, offers tours and tastings, reached by a short ferry from Old San Juan. The restaurants of Condado and Santurce are increasingly acclaimed.

El Yunque from San Juan

El Yunque National Forest, about an hour east of San Juan, is the most cited excursion from the capital: waterfalls such as La Mina, the Yokahú observation tower and trails through a rainforest where the coquí frog sings at night. Access to the main road requires a timed reservation at busy times.

On the way back, the kiosks of Luquillo beach serve seafood and fritters, and in the evening the Laguna Grande in Fajardo glows with bioluminescence on kayak tours.