Old San Juan Castillo San Felipe del Morro is the most famous and most visited structure of the San Juan National Historic Site.
El Morro Esplanade is a large open area located between El Morro and
Ballajá which serves as the main recreational space of the historic site as it offers panoramic views of the bay and is very popular for activities such as picnics,
stargazing and
kite flying. Additionally,
Paseo de la Princesa is a promenade connecting the lower walls of
El Morro with the San Juan Gate (
Puerta de San Juan), formerly known as the Water Gate (
Puerta de Agua), and it offers panoramic views of the San Juan Bay and access to the best preserved section of the city walls and its famous sentry boxes (
garitas).
Castillo San Cristóbal, located on the easternmost end of the fortification system of the islet, is not only the largest fortress in the historic site but the largest fortification ever built in the New World. It was built in 1783 on a hill called
Cerro de la Horca or the
Cerro del Quemadero, later renamed
San Cristóbal Hill to commemorate the Spanish victory over the failed
1625 Dutch attempt to conquer the city. In addition to its purpose to defend San Juan from attacks coming by land it also contained a large dungeon, barracks, powder houses and tunnels that connect it to the rest of the city wall system. The
National Park Service office in Old San Juan is located in the castle grounds. Although it is not open to the public, the famous Devil's Sentry Box (
La Garita del Diablo) is also located in Castillo San Cristóbal.
Isla de Cabras El Cañuelo, officially called
Fortín San Juan de la Cruz, is located across
El Morro in
Isla de Cabras, an islet located in the municipality of
Toa Baja. It was built between 1630 and 1660 to guard the entrance to the bay together with El Morro. This small fortress is not open to the public but it can be admired from the outside and, although it is administered by the National Park Service as part of the national historic site, its grounds together with the rest of the islet are part of the
Isla de Cabras State Park (often referred to as
Parque Nacional Isla de Cabras as
state parks in Puerto Rico are called
parques nacionales in Spanish). with
El Cañuelo located at its southernmost point.
Visitor centers .
San Juan NHS Visitor Center, the main visitor center to the San Juan National Historic Site, is located at 501
Norzagaray Street next to Castillo San Cristóbal and in front of
Plaza Colón at the former site of military headquarters built by the United States during World War II. It temporarily closed during the
COVID-19 pandemic, but it is now open daily from 9AM to 5PM. Additional visitor information and interpretation is located inside the El Morro and San Cristóbal fortresses.
Affiliated sites Fortín de San Gerónimo de Boquerón, commonly known as the San Gerónimo Fortress, is the remaining one of a pair of small fortresses located in the westernmost end of the Isleta de San Juan at the entrance of the
Condado Lagoon and a small body of water named
El Boquerón. It forms part of a larger fortification system called
La Línea Avanzada established in 1609 to defend the
connecting point between the islet and the main island of Puerto Rico from both terrestrial and maritime attacks. Although it is currently administered by the
Government of Puerto Rico, a bill submitted by
Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico Jenniffer González in May 2023 designated it as an affiliated area of the
National Park System, which will authorize the National Park Service to enter into cooperative agreements with the
Institute of Puerto Rican Culture to provide technical and financial assistance for the fort's preservation, without placing the site under federal ownership.
Related sites La Fortaleza La Fortaleza, now known as
Palacio de Santa Catalina, is the only fortification that is not administered by the National Park Service as it serves today as the official residence to the
Governor of Puerto Rico (it is the oldest
executive mansion in continuous use in the Western Hemisphere). It was listed in the
National Register of Historic Places and designated a
National Historic Landmark in 1960 and, along with the San Juan National Historic Site, it has been a World Heritage Site since 1983.
Old San Juan The historic district of Old San Juan (
Viejo San Juan, officially
Zona Histórica de San Juan), listed in the National Register of Historic Places since October 10, 1972, and designated a
National Historic Landmark District since 2013, represents the oldest continuously inhabited settlement in Puerto Rico and the oldest
historic colonial district under the United States jurisdiction. This historic district is often confused with or incorrectly referred to as the San Juan National Historic Site and it contains some of the oldest buildings under U.S. jurisdiction such as
La Casa Blanca, the
Church of San José and the
San Juan Cathedral, and landmarks such as
Capilla del Cristo, the
Ballajá Barracks, the
San Juan City Hall and a large number of historic squares, cobblestone streets and alleyways, museums, cafes and restaurants which cater to residents, locals and tourists alike. The Institute of Puerto Rican Culture owns and administers several museums and cultural institutions in Old San Juan such as the 19th Century Puerto Rican Family House Museum (
Casa de la Familia Puertorriqueña del Siglo XIX), while the
Conservation Trust of Puerto Rico nonprofit unit of
Para La Naturaleza, administers the
Ramón Power y Giralt House; both of these institutions also serve as interpretative centers for visitors of Old San Juan. Old San Juan is not part of the La Fortaleza and San Juan National Historic Site in Puerto Rico World Heritage Site, however, there have been multiple proposals for either expanding the site to include this historic district or, after its 2013 National Historic Landmark designation, for it to be listed as a new World Heritage Site by itself. == Gallery ==