For those who love the beach and lots of sunshine with a little bit of history thrown in Santo Domingo is the place to visit. The capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic sits at the mouth of a river that empties into the Caribbean Sea and enjoys bright sunshine almost year round.

The city also happens to be the oldest continuously inhabited city in the New World after being founded by Bartholomew Columbus in 1493. The city is an ode to Spanish old world architecture and several of the structures built during the reign of the Spanish still exist.

The city’s Zona Colonial has been a Unesco World Heritage Site since 1990 and contains a magnificent collection of 16^th century buildings, churches, and palaces. The oldest castle in the Americas the Alcazar of Colon is in the city’s colonial centre. Other sites in the colonial zone include the Catedral Santa Maria La Menor and Parque Colon. One of the main attractions of the city is the Malecon, a beautiful avenue running along the coast with some of the finest hotels in the city within view of the sea. The Columbus Lighthouse sits in the east of the city as a monument to the Christopher Columbus and is said to contain his remains. Not far from the city is the vibrant Boca Chica Bay where one can enjoy the beach while walking around in narrow streets.

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