Things to do in Old San Juan

The Old San Juan, is a historic site in the capital of Puerto Rico with an old infrastructure, and the most popular zone in the island. There are many things to do in Old San Juan like visit historic places, starting with the most famous fort San Felipe del Morro, that was build around the 16th to 18th centuries by the Spaniards, barrack, recreational parks, the fort San Cristobal, the palace of the laws named the Capitol, and the house of the governor, named La Fortaleza. Having all of this, spend a day in the islet, is an unmissable experience. This area is secure, with many police presence and great area to walk in the streets, eat, and have fun in the days and nights. 

Places to Visit in the Old San Juan:

Fort San Felipe del Morro

Fort San Cristóbal

“Paseo la Princesa” (The Princess Ride)

Cathedral of San Juan Bautista

The Main Square

Parque Las Palomas (Dove Park)

The Old Cementery

El Capitolio (The Capitol)- Palace of the Laws

La Fortaleza- Governor House

Cuartel Ballajá (Ballajá Barrack)

The best restaurants in Old San Juan:

My top 5 favorite restaurants, including typical, Mexican, Italian and turkish foods are: 

Raices Restaurant- Typical Food

Restaurant El Jibarito-Typical Food

Princesa, Cocina Cultura

Pirilo Pizza Restaurant

Istanbul Turkish Restaurant- Turkish Food

The best Ice Cream restaurants in Old San Juan:

Señor Paleta- A local ice cream with many natural fruit flavors and others.

Helpful Hints when visit the Old San Juan:

It’s very easy to arrive to the Old San Juan with Uber, Taxi, in excursions or renting a car. I recommend putting the GPS car or any app like waze, google maps, or apple maps.

The islet is a great area, very secure to walk in the streets, eat, drinks, shop and have fun during the day and nights with many locals and tourist. Walking in the streets, you can enjoy the amazing view in la “Zona Urbana”, and the Pier where the cruise ships arrive.  Continuing walking, the next stop is the Princess Ride (Paseo de la Princesa), a long road with many artisans, restaurant, food trucks, food kiosk and ice cream kiosk (most of them are on weekends). At the end of the part where all these attractions are, you going to see a big water fountains and a beautiful ocean view. During the ride, you can appreciate parts of the most famous fort named El Morro and see the House of the Governor “La Fortaleza”.

The Fort San Felipe del Morro have a very long landscape and amazing view. If you travel with kids, is a tradition in the island to fly a kite in the landscape of this fort.

It has many places to stay like largest chain Hotel Sheraton, some boutique hotels, hostels and Airbnb’s.

For the ones that are interest in enjoying some drinks, the best restaurants and bars are in San Sebastian Street. 

My top recommendations for parking in Old San Juan are:

1. La Puntilla parking lot: located at the Pier of the islet, cost only $3 USD for the day.
2. Ballaja parking lot: located at the Totem Square, near “El Morro”, but the cost is by hour.