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Photo: OliverZena, Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
Built in 1523, when it was called the Church and Monastery of Saint Thomas Aquinas. It is the second oldest church in continuous use in the New World and the oldest in the United States. Before Ponce de Leon was moved to the San Juan Cathedral, his body was buried here for 300 years.
San José Church, located in Old San Juan, the historic colonial zone of the capital of Puerto Rico, is one of the first significant works of architecture on the island, and one of the earliest surviving examples of 16th-century Spanish Gothic architecture in the Western Hemisphere. Founded as the Church and Convent of Santo Tomás de Aquino in 1532, the Dominican convent survived until 1836 when the complex was closed and secularized. The church itself became a parish under the Jesuits in 1858, and then under the Paulist Fathers in 1911, until its transfer to the diocese of San Juan in 1969. The convent building was acquired by the government of Puerto Rico and turned into the National Gallery of the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture in 1960.
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Ballaja Barracks
Completed in 1863, and in 1881 a chapel was added. This building housed military personnel and is now a museum called Las Americas Museum containing Caribbean and European American arts and artifacts.
or the Palacio de Santa Catalina, "La Fortaleza" (or The Fortress in English) is the official residence of the Governor of Puerto Rico, who is Puerto Rico's head of Government. It was built between 1533 and 1540 to defend the harbor of San Juan. The structure is also known as El Palacio de Santa Catalina (or Palace of Santa Catalina). It is the oldest executive mansion in the New World. La Fortaleza was declared as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
Traditional entrance to San Juan.
El Morro
A 16th-century citadel that lies on the northwestern-most point of the islet of San Juan, Puerto Rico. It is part of San Juan National Historic Site and was declared a World Heritage Site by the United Nations in 1983.
Museo y Parque Historico Ruinas de Caparra
Caparra was the first Spanish settlement in Puerto Rico. It was put several miles inland to keep it protected from pirates. The site is the ruins of the house/fort of Puerto Rico's first governor, Juan Ponce de León. A small museum displays some of the excavated artifacts. The displays are all in Spanish, though they do have a summary page in English upon request.