Read time: about 1.5 minutes. Published 2026-03-01

We love learning about the history of places we visit. Museums, preserved houses, guided tours, and historical forts. It’s fascinating to walk the same halls and into the same rooms that others did hundreds of years ago, see how they might have lived, and how far we’ve come since then. It’s fun to imagine yourself in those places so long ago – what would your life be like, how would you spend your days? Would you be a laborer, a soldier, a master crafter, or some sort of merchant?

One of the best places we’ve been for exploring old forts is San Juan, Puerto Rico. We went there in 2011 and stayed in Old San Juan (highly recommend!). There are two large forts you can walk to if you’re staying in the area – Castillo San Felipe del Morro (El Morro) and Castillo San Cristobal.

El Morro gets a lot of recognition, because it’s built on the northwest tip of San Juan, with large open fields behind it. It’s an impressive fort, and you can see why Spain was able to hold the island for over 350 years with El Morro being the primary defense of San Juan Bay. There’s a lot to see when you visit this fort, and it’s definitely worth a visit.

San Cristobal is an even larger fort – the largest one built by the Spanish in the New World. It was instrumental in the defense of the island numerous times and has a lot of history. There are a lot of museum-style exhibits throughout the fort, and many places to explore. If you’re walking along the outer wall between the guerites (sentry boxes), hold onto your hats! The wind gets pretty strong out there!

If you’re into historical sites, especially those with militaristic significance, these two forts are must-see if you’re ever in Puerto Rico. If you just like walking around seeing some really cool old stuff, this is great place for that as well. Our entire time in San Juan was a wonderful experience, and these forts were particularly memorable.