Castillo San Cristobal in Puerto Rico is a National Historic Site. It took over 150 years to build and is considered the largest fortress built in the Americas. It features 3 levels and was built with a deep dry moat and a series of tunnels which protected soldiers from enemy fire and allowed movement of weapons, supplies and the troops.
The fort was designed to catch and retain rainwater - approximately 800,000 gallons of water can be held underneath the main plaza! A dungeon, two coastal observation posts (added by the US Army during WWII) and a 1942 bunker serving as the current Visitors' Center round out the fort.
Admission is $10 per person for anyone age 16+ which gives you access to both forts (Castillo San Cristobal and Castillo San Felipe del Morro).
You can easily walk to this fort from the Cruise terminal in San Juan, it's only a 10 minute walk!
If visiting during a shore excursion, such as the History Behind the Walls - Walking Tour, do note that you will not have sufficient time to thoroughly explore the fort.
If you truly want to experience the entire fort, I'd recommend planning on staying for several hours. We stayed maybe 1.5 hours and didn't truly get the full experience. I'd love to go back one day and truly explore Castillo San Cristobal and make my way over to Castillo San Felipe del Morro as well!
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