Take a drive from San Juan to Rincón Beach on the northwest shore of the island to pay a visit to Villa Cofresí Hotel and Restaurant - named after Roberto Cofresí, a legendary local pirate who allegedly split his loot with the island’s poor. Completed in 1783 to protect the city from the other direction, it’s known as the largest Spanish fortification built in the New World. Further east down the coast of Old San Juan, the sprawling Fort San Cristóbal also remains open for modern day exploration. Today, the towering rock walls of Fort San Felipe del Morro still overlook the entrance to San Juan Bay, and visitors can tour the UNESCO World Heritage site’s six levels and tunneling mazes while imagining an onslaught of French, Dutch, and English invaders.
After a series of attacks from government-commissioned pirates - otherwise known as privateers - began on the port, the Spanish built a wall around the city complete with a series of cannon-studded forts to protect its harbor from seaborn enemies. In the decades after Columbus’s landing, Puerto Rico began to boom as a vital Spanish colony, and competing European powers soon took notice. Considering its status as the second oldest city in the Western Hemisphere, as well as one of the key ports to the New World, the storied citadel has experienced its share of seafaring scoundrels throughout history. Practically an island of its own, Old San Juan is connected to the rest of the city and the larger Puerto Rican landmass through bridges on its eastern side.
Ensconced along Puerto Rico’s northeast coastline is the original heart of San Juan.
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