Santo Domingo

A city of timeline triumphs (the oldest in the western hemisphere, home to the Americas' first street, site of the New World's first university) Dom Rep's seaport capital is a heady mix of history, hustle bustle and cosmopolitan sophistication. For once, when the tourist brochures tell you there's so much to see you won't manage it all, they're not having you on.

Founded in 1496 by Christopher Columbus's brother, Bartholomew, the colonial zone (La Ciudad Colonial) is strewn with splendid, aged buildings. A good place to start geographically is Alcázar de Colón, a coral-stone palace dating back to 1510, but also be sure to see the Cathedral Basilica de Santa Maria la Menor, and the fascinating Museum of the Royal Houses. After that, you've got more chapels, fortresses, museums, convents, plazas and cobblestone streets at your feet than you'll know what to do with.

The modern part of the city is a different ball game altogether. Here, broad, tree-lined avenues come alive at night to the sounds of merengue blaring from boom boxes and car horns from the inevitable traffic jams. Theatre, dining and nightlife are of an international standard with a spicy Latino edge, and nowadays there's the bonus of a lively, late-night, outdoor café society. Plus let's not forget the city hosts not one, but two, full-blown Carnivals.

'La Capital' (as it's called by the locals) is also the gateway to the rest of the country. You can reach anywhere you please within a day, so hire a car or sign up for a tour, and beetle off to gorgeous beaches, majestic mountains and wildlife-rich mangrove forests.