La Fortaleza and San Juan

This is actually a two-part site, consisting of La Fortaleza and other fortifications that make up the San Juan National Historic Site, run by the US National Parks Service. La Fortaleza is currently a building used by the Puerto Rican government and can only be visited by an advance tour. In contrast, the other areas are open to visitors with standard hours — the grounds are free and open 24/7. To go inside the two forts (El Morro and San Cristobol), it’s a joint $10 ticket (or free for two guests if you have a US annual National Parks Pass.). The two forts are a 10-15 minute walk from each other. Both are within ild town San Juan, which is pretty compact — you can cover most of it on foot in a few hours. Cabs and Ubers are hard to find, and streets are often shut down for cultural events, so it’s much easier to walk.

With that background, the two forts included in the listing are your standard Spanish/Portuguese forts from the 1500s-1700s. They’re similar to several listed properties, including El Jadida in Morocco and fortifications in Ghana (as well as a number of tentative sites). The setting for the forts in Puerto Rico is stunning, and they are in very good condition since they were used by the US military until turned into a park. Visitors have a lot of access to wander around the forts and surrounding grounds.

I'm glad I visited La Fortaleza and San Juan Historic Site in Puerto Rico when I did in the fall of 2016, since I learned how beautiful and atmospheric Old San Juan is. This historic city is one of two Spanish built World Heritage Sites in the United States, and includes forts on either end of Old San Juan, most of the city walls, and La Fortaleza, home to the governor of the island. I didn't get to tour the palace, but I did visit both Castillo San Cristóbal, the fort on the east side of Old San Juan, and Castillo San Felipe del Morro (El Morro), the fort on the west side of town at the entrance to San Juan Bay. San Cristóbal offered great views of the city, and was laced with tunnels and batteries to explore. Across town, El Morro's prominent position atop a hill, with the Caribbean crashing into the rocks below, helped contextualize its defensive importance. The walls of both forts were lined with the guard post towers, known as garitas, for which San Juan is famous. The US National Park Service offers informative historical programs at both forts, and I highly encourage a visit. This is particularly relevant now, since Puerto Rico can use as much tourism as possible to help its people recuperate in the aftermath of 2017's devastating Hurricane Maria.

Logistics: La Fortaleza and San Juan Historic Site can be explored on foot, although warning must be given that Old San Juan …

Founded in 1521, San Juan is the second-oldest European city still existing in the Americas, only a few years behind Santo Domingo. It soon became important as the first port of call for Spanish ships en route to the New World, and was therefore a popular target for the English (including Francis Drake), French, and Dutch, as well as for pirates of all kinds. To secure the port, the Spanish built 2 massive fortifications and a large city wall. These form the San Juan National Historic Site, a unit of the U.S. National Park Service. The fortress of San Cristóbal is the largest fortification built by the Spanish in the New World. About a 20-minute walk away, San Felipe del Morro guards the entrance to San Juan Bay. The most fascinating feature of this fort is the large open space in front, which was intended to give the defenders an open field of fire. You can easily spend several hours exploring each of the forts. They are connected by the remains of the city wall, which also stretches south of El Morro to include San Juan Gate, for centuries the only way to enter the city. The WH site also includes La Fortaleza, built in the 16th century as yet another fortification but soon found to be inadequate for this purpose and turned into the residence of the governor of Puerto Rico (it is also known as Santa Catalina Palace). It still fulfills this function today, and is thus the …

The fortress is the best Spanish fortress of its kind we have ever seen. It is enormous and visitors can wander at will. There are guided tours which can give you the whole story and interesting details about the history of the fort. The adjacent area is also worth a walk around. There are old churches, historic homes, monuments, and a promenade along the city side of the hill where the fort lies.

To me, this Bastion at the heart of San Juan is what the Caribbean is all about. Take away the cruise ships and high rises, and what you have is an authentic relic from the once mighty Spanish Main, a classic icon from a romantic era of exploration and expansion.