Colonial Zone Walking Tour
Part 2
Continue on Calle El Conde and turn left at Calle Hostos. Walk two blocks to the ruins of San Nicolas de Bari, the first hospital in the New World. Just beyond San Nicolas de Bari is Iglesia Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia, named for the protective mother of the Dominican people.
Continue on Calle Hostos for another block to Santo Domingo’s most important tourist attractions, Ruinas del Monasterio de San Francisco. The pile of rubble is what remains of the first monastery in the New World. Look closely 
and you’ll see the Cordón de la Orden Franciscana, the coat of arms of the Franciscan order, carved around the arched doorway over the largest remaining part of the monastery.
Walk a short distance south on Calle Hostos then turn east on Calle Emiliano Tejera. Continue one block pass Calle Isabel la Católica to Plaza España, the former military parade ground in front of Alcazar de Colón. If you’re getting a little hungry or you’re ready for some refreshments, stop at one of the many restaurants on the west side of the plaza. One of them, Brasserie Pat’e Palo, is the oldest tavern in America.
After your rest stop, you’re ready to visit Alcazar de Colón, the first palace in the New World. This was the home of Diego Columbus and his family while he was governor of the colony. Inside you’ll find 800 pieces which include original paintings, furniture, pottery, a collection of musical instruments, period tapestries and other items from the 13th to the 20th century. 
When you leave Alcazar de Colón, walk across the plaza to Museo de La Casas Reales. Inside the Royal House are artifacts, salvaged treasures, maps, furnishings, and other exhibits that trace Santo Domingo’s 
history from 1492 to 1821. On the second floor you’ll find the former office of t
he Governor in the north wing. A replica of the first court of law in the Americas is in the south wing.
In the front courtyard of Museo de La Casas Reales is Reloj de Sol, the oldest working sundial in the Americas.
Just a few feet south of the sundial you’ll see the beautiful Gothic-Elizabethan portal of Capilla de Nuestra Senora de Los Remedios, built as a private mausoleum for two of the richest families in early Santo Domingo.
Just south of the chapel on the opposite size of the street is the Panteón Nacional, the mausoleum for the country’s heroes. Even though the doorway is guarded, visitors are free to walk inside the marble mausoleum and admire the interior of what used to be a Jesuit church.
Now walk south on cobblestoned Calle Las Damas, the first paved street in America.
Continue pass the former home of Hernán Corté and other famous Spanish conquistadors. The building is now the home of the French Embassy.
Continue south on Calle las Damas for one block pass Calle El Conde to Fortaleza Ozama, the oldest standing military complex in the New World.
Turn west on Calle Padre Bellini to Calle Isabel La Católica to the Museo de Larimar. Continue north on Católica and you’ll be back at Parque Colón where you started your tour