Things to see and do Puerto Plata

A cable car, inaugurated in 1975, facilitates the ascent of this high hill - the Loma Isabel de Torres, with the status of national park - which stands like a sentinel above Puerto Plata. It is because of its height (the hill culminates at about 900 meters of altitude) and the wide panorama to which it gives access that Trujillo decided to build a fortress here. By posting sentries here, the city was protected, or at least able to retaliate if an attack from the sea took place. In fact, although the summit (where there is a cafeteria) is often trapped in the clouds, the viewpoint has now become a tourist attraction in its own right: the panorama over the city and the entire bay is breathtaking! Throned above the dome of this fortress, the statue of a Christ the Redeemer, more modest than its counterpart of the Sugar Loaf in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, watches over the city. The other interest of the Loma Isabel de Torres is its botanical garden. It is to the engineer Benjamín Paewonsky that we owe this complete creation, dating from 1973. You can follow the paths lined with more than 600 local plant species (594 trees and flowers to be exact) while discovering the reconstruction of a traditional Taino habitat. A recommended visit, which will also allow you to refresh yourself when the heat in the heart of the city becomes stifling.

The nerve centre of the city, it is the meeting place par excellence. Its pretty green and white octagonal gazebo with two-level galleries is an exact replica of the original from a not so distant time (1880) when municipal orchestras used to entertain on Sundays. There are the traditional shoe-shine boys, lottery ticket sellers, motoconchos, drink sellers, fruit sellers, chulamia (yucca fritters, a local specialty)... All around the park, buildings of pure Victorian style stand guard.

The Malecón avenue, which is called Avenida General Gregorio Luperón, runs along the ocean for 4 km. The promenade is pleasant and well-maintained: you can find rollerbladers, bicycles and sports enthusiasts with family or friends, enjoying the beautiful bicycle path. The Malecón comes alive in the evening and on weekends in the part corresponding to the city centre. You will notice it by the smell of the numerous frituras and chimichurris stands that invade it. But the beach is unfortunately not very beautiful, and the sea is polluted.

The handicraft market, the Mercado Nuevo, is housed in a concrete structure with a resolutely modern and aggressive architecture. Stands offer all local production in the fields of sculpture, painting, basket, textiles and consumables, cigars, rum… Apart from this, the traditional market is held with its coloured stalls and amply supplied in fruit and vegetables, sheltered under umbrellas or large sheets of plastic. We weigh the products on scales of fortune, the small restaurants make room.

Unfortunately, this is not a visit to a distillery, but to a bottling plant specially set up for this purpose. A gallery overlooks the room where a few employees supervise the automated bottling of rum and its packaging in cartons. The tour (multilingual versions) presents the history of the Brugal brand. Apart from that, there is no particular interest, except for the glass of daiquiri that is offered to you as a preliminary to your purchase. However, the whole team is happy to show you around.

The lighthouse is emblematic of the area. This imposing monument was made from cast iron by Robert Hills and Sons, at the request of the provisional government of Gregorio Luperón. It was lit for the first time on September 9, 1879. It is 24 meters high and rises about 50 meters above sea level. A spiral staircase runs inside. Its visit is of little interest today except for the beautiful panorama that is offered to our eyes... At its feet lies the new Anfiteatro de Puerto Plata, an open-air theatre inaugurated in 2016.

For a long time installed in a splendid colonial house of calle Beller, the museum of amber has just changed address and concept. If its previous version was more like a natural history museum, it is now a question of making the visitor live the experience of a miner. It is therefore the reconstruction of a tunnel (vaguely convincing) that welcomes us and leads to a jewelry cutting workshop. If you want to visit real mines, it is possible, at 1h30 from Puerto Plata (on request).

A square and imposing building, composed of a wall framing a central round and crenellated tower. Its strategic position allowed it to effectively defend the entrance to the port against pirate attacks. It is the only building in Puerto Plata dating from the 16th century. The fortress was used as a court of justice and then as a military prison on several occasions, notably from 1930 to 1961, under the Trujillo dictatorship. Inside there is a small military museum; you can see the cell of Juan Pablo Duarte, father of the country, who was detained there in August 1844.

On the edge of the central park, its white towers and the simplicity of its architecture give this cathedral a small provincial air. Dating from 1956, it replaced the original wooden church (16th century) destroyed by fire in 1863, intentionally set by the "Restorers". The construction of the present cathedral began in 1929 under the aegis of the architect Tancredo Aybar Castellanos. The religious building, flanked by two towers, is of Art Deco inspiration.

"El Paso de los Hidalgos" is the first land route built by the conquistadors. This road between La Isabela and Fort Santo Tomás de Jánico is said to have been laid out in honour of Admiral Christopher Columbus and the first children of the Spanish nobility who walked the area in March 1494. The area of Los Hidalgos is known as the "Land of Poppies", a flower that can be found throughout the area. It is known for its romantic character and is celebrated every year in April. It is a good time for declarations of love.

This shop offers various leather accessories, solid and finely worked. While browsing through the small space, you can choose from bags and purses, wallets, sandals, flip-flops, belts and many other things, the leather object you want for yourself or to give as a gift on your return from holiday. It is possible to ask for a custom-made accessory, but this obviously takes time. To see with the manager. Nevertheless, the choice is quite vast