Colonial Zone Sight Seeing, Monuments, History

Museo de las Casas Reales/ Museum of the Royal Houses

This museum has artifacts and other historical exhibits on Santo Domingo from 1492 to 1821. It holds pieces from the island's Hispanic period. The most important attraction there is the building itself, originally called Palacio de los Capitanes Generales. Here was located first court house that controlled the New World. More about Casa de Reales building.

Entrance fees: $50 pesos per person / $10 pesos - students / children free with adult / Guides are free but you should give them a tip. (2006)

Hours: Tuesday thru Saturday 9 to 5, Sunday 10 to 4, Closed Mondays

Contact:: 809-682-4202

Directions: Calle Las Damas Colonial Zone see the map (number 37)

Museo de Juan Pablo Duarte/ Museum of Juan Pablo Duarte (more information on Durate)

Duarte, the Padre de la Patria, was born in this modest one story house in January 1813. He is known for his fight for Independence. This museum contains documents and paintings and in the more elegant rooms there is furniture and items from La Trinitaria, the underground movement Duarte founded.

Hours: 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM Tuesday thru Friday. 9:00 A.M. to 12:00 P.M Saturday.

Cost: RD$5.00 pesos

Contact: 809-687-1436

Directions: Isabel La Católica #306 and Vincente C. Duarte, near Plaza España, Cuidad Colonial see the map (number 27)

Museo de las Atarazanas or el Museo Marítimo also called the Marine Museum, housed in a 16th century depot and later a warehouse. It documents the history of many of the famous shipwrecks that happened along the coast of Dominican Republic. It also shows how they have made efforts to recover these wrecks.

There are cannons, coins, pipes, swords and many more treasures found off the coast of Dominican Republic. Included is the wreck and treasure of Guadalupe y Conde de Tolosa that was shipwrecked in Samaná in 1724. There is a wealth of treasures that have been resurrected from the many wrecks that are displayed here. Also documented is information about how life was aboard the Spanish galleons that used these waters hundreds of years ago.

There is so much interesting historical information and trivia here with the signs written in both English and Spanish.

This museum is located in the Casa de Tostado. It has a good collection of 19th-and 20th-century Victorian wicker and mahogany furniture and a beautiful ,green courtyard where you can relax for a time. If you go up the stairs you will have a great view of the Colonial Zone.

Hours: 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM Monday thru Saturday. Closed Sundays

Cost: $40 pesos for general public. $20 for Dominicans and $10 for students.(12/2008)

Contact: 809-689-5000

Directions: Padre Billini and. Arz. Meriño see the map (number 59)

This the house where Christopher Columbus' son, Diego and his wife Maria Toledo (the neice of the King of Spain), lived. Inside this mansion is furniture, many clothing items and home utensils from the era. The furnishings are not the original as this building was in ruins for many years and centuries but they are arranged the same way they were when they lived here. the Palacio Virreinal is a must-see by those who want to learn about Santo Domingo's historical beginnings. The furnishings, supplied by the Spanish government, had to be replaced when most were destroyed by USA gunfire and bombings during their 1965 invasion. History of the Alcázar de Colón.

The museum is open to the public Tuesday to Saturday 9AM – 5PM and Sundays from 9AM to 4PM

General admission is RD$50 (6/2012)

Directions: Calle las Damas in Plaza de España, Zona Colonial see the map (number 30)

Museo Naval de las Atarazanas/ Naval Museum of the Atarazanas | Trampolín, Museo Infantil / Trampoline, Children's Museum | Museo de la Porcelana/ Museum of Porcelain | Museo de la Familia/ Museum of the Dominican Family | Museo de Juan Pablo Duarte/ Museum of Juan Pablo Duarte | Museo de las Casas Reales/ Museum of the Royal Houses | Museo Alcazar de Colon | Memorial Museum of Dominican Resistance / El Museo Memorial de la Resistencia Dominicana | Museo del Ron y la Caña / Museum of Rum and Sugar Cane | Museum of Telecommunications / Museo de las Telecomunicaciones (CCT) |

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Sights Index | Sights Page 5 - Museums

Return to Sights Index | Go on to Sights page 6 -walls and gates

This museum is one of the newest in Colonial Zone opening late 2008. This museum is inside a 16th century restored building. You can see the pictures of the original building before reconstruction inside. There are stoves of bronze, a still and all the history of rum making here in Dominican Republic. There are plows and other items for harvesting the sugar cane with some cane growing inside on the open patio. Also included are pictures of the "Roneros" (the men who made the rum) and some old casks filled with the glorious Dominican rum. The front of the museum has all the Dominican rums for sale at reasonable prices. There is also a very nice bar inside where you can enjoy a nice drink of rum or any other drink of your choice (more information in the bar restaurant section).

See all the Museum pictures

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Trampolín, Museo Infantil / Trampoline, Children's Museum

Trampoline is a children's museum located in one of the older buildings in the Colonial city, Casa de Bastidas. The building has a wonderful patio and restored architect. Their desire in to spark an interest in history and knowledge while making it fun and interesting to the children. It is an interactive place for children to learn about their Universe, Planet earth, Energy, People and Society, Ecology and Ecosystems and what surrounds them. There are rooms for children's workshops, a cinema theater, an outdoor theater, a cafeteria and library services. http://www.trampolin.org.do

Hours: Tuesday to Friday 9AM to 5PM, Saturday and Sunday 10AM to 6PM

Location: Calle las Damas in the Casa de Bastidas, Zona Colonial, Santo Domingo 809-685-5551 see the map (number 86)

Memorial Museum of Dominican Resistance / El Museo Memorial de la Resistencia Dominicana

The museum, opened May 2011, has on display a collection of more than 160,000 files, photographs, films, objects and books belonging to those who staged the resistance to the dictatorship of Rafael Leonidas Trujillo. Using modern audiovisual resources, supplemented with items belonging to the heroes and survivors of the fateful Trujillo years. There are testimonies, recordings, photographs and videos of the fallen, dioramas and models depicting the torture prisons and certain historical events. Also included is restoration and extension of the Jail site 9/ Cárcel del 9 located in the basement area of the restored building. The Museum includes areas such as bathrooms, library, cafeteria, an auditorium and a documentation center. More details on the museum at the Colonial Zone News Blog.

Hours: Tuesday thru Sunday 9:30AM to 6PM

Cost: Adults- RD$200, Children and over 65 - RD$100. Entrance is free the last Sunday of the month (3/2011).

Contact: 809 563-3463 http://www.museodelaresistencia.org

Location: Arzobispo Nouel #210 between Sanchez and Jose Reyes, Colonial Zone, Santo Domingo see the map (number 84)

This state of the art museum is to show the evolution of communications in Dominican Republic from prehistory to the present. There are more than 75,000 collections of audiovisual documents informing visitors of the origin and evolution of radio, television, telephone, telegraph, computers and video games inside.

for information on the inauguration and a picture go to the Colonial Zone News Blog.

Hours: Tuesday to Friday - 9AM to 5PM, Saturday - 9AM to 9PM, Sunday - 10AM to 6PM.

Admission: Residents - children - RD$100, adults - RD$200; Foreigners - US$10. (2011)

Location: Isabel la Catolica, before you get to Plaza España, Zona Colonial see the map (number 90)