Seniors Find Sun and Fun in San Juan

San Juan, is Puerto Rico’s capital city and as seniors learn, a hot tourist destination. Grab your coffee, my friends, and let’s find out just what makes it so inviting.

Sitting on the island’s Atlantic coast, its widest beach fronts the Isla Verde resort strip, known for its bars, nightclubs and casinos. Cobblestoned Old San Juan features colorful Spanish colonial buildings and 16th-century landmarks including El Morro and La Fortaleza, massive fortresses with sweeping ocean views. Senior visitors can also enjoy the Paseo de la Princesa bayside promenade.

San Juan is known as the Walled City and in Spanish as “la perla”…the pearl. With a population of 390,000, it is the financial and industrial center of the island, and where most cultural events take place. The San Juan Airport and Cruise Port are both Caribbean hubs welcoming millions of tourists every year.

Seniors Enjoy City With Rich History

This modern city is also the second oldest settlement in the Americas.  It is rich in history, treasuring its past, but setting new standards in technology across the Caribbean.

My wife and I always enjoy starting with a visit to the oldest quarter of the city. Old San Juan is the oldest settlement within Puerto Rico and the historic colonial section of the city.

The settlement is a National Historic Landmark District and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the “Zona Histórica de San Juan” (English: San Juan Historic Site). Bring along some extra memory for your camera and visit  the traditional callejón (alley) in Old San Juan and the Plaza de Armas.

 Seniors Also Enjoy Vibrant Modern City

Fodor’s notes that if you associate Puerto Rico’s capital with the colonial streets of Old San Juan, then you know only part of the picture. San Juan is a major metropolis, radiating out from the bay that was discovered by Juan Ponce de León.

More than a third of the island’s nearly 4 million citizens proudly call themselves sanjuaneros. Locals go about their daily business surrounded by colonial architecture and towering modern structures.

The Island was established back in 1521. The old town was inaugurated almost a century before the Mayflower laid anchor in present-day Massachusetts, and is now a historic wonderland whose historical authenticity pulsates with modern energy.

San Juan is fueled by galleries, superb restaurants for senior gourmets and a bar scene that takes over the streets as the sun goes down. TripAdvisor has listed 183 things for senior visitors to see and do. So get out a pencil and paper and chose several that you would put at the top of your visit list.  Enjoy your trip to Puerto Rico and San Juan. -jeb