Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Santo Domingo is the capital of the Dominican Republic, the oldest European city in the Americas, and the most developed city on the island of Hispaniola. The old city is on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Elsewhere in the Dominican Republic, which is named after Santo Domingo, it's more common to just call this city "the capital" than to call it by its name.

Santo Domingo is the capital city of the Dominican Republic, and it prides itself in being the first European city in the New World. Founded by Christopher Columbus's brother Bartolome Colombus in 1496, it is the oldest continuously inhabited European settlement in the Americas and was the first seat of the Spanish colonial empire in the New World. For this reason, the city of Santo Domingo has a really rich historic and cultural heritage that makes any visit extremely worthwhile. Santo Domingo remains one of the most populous cities in the Central America-Caribbean area, and the main economic and commercial center of this region. The country suffered 31 years of a brutal dictatorship by Trujillo, during which time the city was called "Ciudad Trujillo".