Puerto Plata Attractions

The Amber Museum of Puerto Plata, set in a Victorian mansion, features a large display of amber specimens. Amber is the Dominican Republic's designated national gem.

Puerto Plata's most impressive geographic feature, 780m/2,600 ft Mount Isabel can be reached after a seven minute cable car ride up the nearly vertical slope.

In addition to the views from the top are botanical gardens, a statue of Christ similar to the one in Río de Janeiro, and a restaurant.

A manicured botanical garden is dominated by a colossal statue of Christ reminiscent of the one overlooking Río de Janeiro. At the base of the statue are a crafts center and a view over Puerto Plata.

Independence Park is surrounded by Puerto Plata's City Hall, the Palace of Justice and other government office buildings plus Victorian and pastel-coloreds houses.

Fuerte San Felipe is Puerto Plata's only remaining colonial structure and one of the first European forts to be constructed in the Americas.

The 16th C fort is ringed by a moat and inside its 2.4m/ 8ft-thick walls are historical artifacts, and a small museum. It was built to ward off French and English pirates and later used as a prison for political dissidents.

At night the fort is outlined in lights.

The Malecón is an ocean-side road featuring numerous cafes and small restaurants. On weekends road-side vendors prepare snacks and music blares along this promenade good for people watching.

Ocean World Adventure Park in Puerto Plata is a water park that allows visitors to interact with marine life. Guests can swim with dolphins, play with sea lions, pet sharks and stingrays, and snorkel with tropical fish. The park also offers aquarium style viewing of marine life as well as tigers, and birds.

Plaza Turisol Complex in Puerto Plata, the largest shopping center on the north coast, has many different upscale outlets.

Puerto Plata's week-long Cultural Festival features jazz, blues, Merengue and folk concerts throughout town. The festival is traditionally held the third week of June.

The Playa Dorada is a huge resort complex of set on an attractive beach with numerous hotels and thousands of rooms for visitors. There are also dozens of restaurants, a shopping center and a Robert Trent Jones golf course.

Cabarete has a bay with 6km/3.7mi of white-sand beach and is considered one of the best in the world for windsurfing. Cabarete offers hotels and condominiums and a prosperous community life.

La Isabela is the ruin of one of the first Spanish settlements in the New World believed to have been founded by Columbus c 1494.

Magante offers secluded bathing beaches with modern well-equipped hotels and holiday apartments plus a horseback riding facility.

Sosúa is a village known for its multilingual and cosmopolitan character. It offers idyllic beaches, guest houses, hotels and cafés. In 1940, it became a refuge for about 600 European Jews who settled here to start a new life. They developed Sosúa's renowned dairy industry. The original synagogue still stands.

Sosúa'sJewish Community Museum is dedicated to preserving the history of town's original Jewish settlers.