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The forts and castles of Puerto Rico

Ordered by every profile at once · 5 sights

For four centuries Spain fortified San Juan as the key to the Caribbean. Castillo San Felipe del Morro and Castillo San Cristóbal, part of a World Heritage site together with La Fortaleza and the city walls, are the most visited monuments on the island, and smaller forts guarded the bay, Vieques and the south coast.

This ranking orders the forts by every profile of places of interest at once: significance, appeal, access, learning, peace and comfort. The two great castles of Old San Juan share an entrance ticket and are within walking distance of each other.

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54321
  1. 1

    Castillo San Cristóbal

    89/100
    Fort or castle · San Juan · San Juan metroNot verified: Scores estimated from public sources, pending an on-site check: they may change.

    The largest fortification Spain built in the Americas, finished in 1783 to defend San Juan from attacks by land: ramparts, a dry moat, tunnels and the Garita del Diablo, the lonely sentry box over the Atlantic.

    • Significance
    • Appeal
    • Learning
  2. 2

    Castillo San Felipe del Morro

    79/100
    Fort or castle · San Juan · San Juan metroNot verified: Scores estimated from public sources, pending an on-site check: they may change.

    The great Spanish citadel at the mouth of San Juan Bay, built from 1539 over two and a half centuries: six levels of ramparts, tunnels, a lighthouse and the open lawn of the Campo del Morro. Part of the San Juan National Historic Site, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

    • Significance
    • Appeal
    • Learning
  3. 3

    Fortín Conde de Mirasol

    73/100
    Fort or castle · ViequesNot verified: Scores estimated from public sources, pending an on-site check: they may change.

    The last fort built by Spain in the Americas, from 1845, on a hill above Isabel II, in Vieques. Restored by the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture, it houses the Vieques Museum of Art and History.

    • Significance
    • Appeal
    • Learning
  4. 4

    Fortín San Juan de la Cruz (El Cañuelo)

    55/100
    Fort or castle · Toa Baja · San Juan metroNot verified: Scores estimated from public sources, pending an on-site check: they may change.

    A small 17th-century stone fort on an islet at the mouth of San Juan Bay, facing El Morro, which closed the bay with crossfire. Part of the San Juan National Historic Site; it is seen from Isla de Cabras, in Toa Baja.

    • Significance
    • Appeal
    • Learning
  5. 5

    Fuerte Caprón

    47/100
    Fort or castle · Guánica · South coastNot verified: Scores estimated from public sources, pending an on-site check: they may change.

    A stone lookout built in the 1930s on one of the highest hills of the dry forest, with views over the forest to the Caribbean.

    • Significance
    • Appeal
    • Learning

How this ranking is made

Every place has a score from 1 to 5 for each criterion, following a public rubric, and the score out of 100 combines them with the weights of the profile. Most scores are estimates from public sources; places marked “Verified” have been checked in person.

Read the methodology