The oldest permanently established European settlement in the Americas, Santo Domingo oozes colonial charm and Spanish splendour. The
Dominican Republic's capital city, it lies along the azure shores of the
Caribbean Sea with a sweeping waterfront boulevard prompting leisurely evening strolls beside the hush of the ocean.
The walled Zona Colonial is the city's historic core, a 16th-century labyrinth of cobblestoned streets with the first-built cathedral in the New World. On the café-scattered Plaza de España stands the Alcázar de Colón palace, the first fortified colonial building in the Americas and now a museum showcasing notable medieval and Renaissance artworks.