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Santo Domingo de Guzmán (known as Santo Domingo), population about 2,000,000, is the capital and largest city in the Dominican Republic, and the second largest in the Caribbean. The city is located in the Caribbean Sea at the mouth of the Ozama River. It is the oldest continuously inhabited European settlement in the Americas, and was the first seat of Spanish colonial rule in the New World .

The city dates to 1496, when the first Europeans settled there, although it was not officially founded until August 5, 1498. Governor general Nicolás de Ovando arrived in 1502 with a fleet of 30 ships and 2,500 men. Santo Domingo was destroyed by a hurricane shortly after his arrival and he had it rebuilt on a different site nearby.
The original layout of the city and a large portion of its defensive wall can still be appreciated today throughout the Colonial Zone, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1990. The Colonial Zone, bordered by the Río Ozama also has an impressive collection of 16th century buildings, including palatial houses and majestic churches that reflect the architectural style of the late medieval period.

In 1930, the city of Santo Domingo (excluding the colonial zone) was extensively damaged by a tropical hurricane called San Zenon. Dictator Rafael Trujillo, the incumbent at the time, reconstructed the city and named it Ciudad Trujillo after himself. After his assassination in 1961, Ciudad Trujillo once again became Santo Domingo de Guzman, its original name. Santo Domingo de Guzman is within the boundaries of the Distrito Nacional (D.N.) and the Santo Domingo Province surrounds it. In 2001 a law was approved making Santo Domingo de Guzmán (The City & D.N) less than 200 km² in size, making it the smallest administrative division in the country.

The year 1992 marked the 500th anniversary, El Quinto Centenario, of Christopher Columbus' discovery of America. The Columbus Lighthouse (Faro a Colón), with an approximate cost of 400 million Dominican pesos, was erected, amidst great controversy, in honor of this occasion.

Tra monumenti più significativi di Santo Domingo ricordiamo: la Calle El Conde, la Puerta de la Misericordia, la Cattedrale di Santa Maria La Menor (la più antica cattedrale delle Americhe), e l’Alcázar di Colón, che si trovano all’interno della zona coloniale della città.

Famous landmarks in Santo Domingo include the Calle El Conde, the Puerta de la Misericordia, the Catedral Santa María La Menor (Catedral Primada de América), and the Alcázar de Colón, all of which are located within the Zona Colonial district of the city. This part was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1990.
Outside of the colonial quarters, the area surrounding the Malecón (seawall) is a vibrant commercial and tourist center, having as a centerpiece the large obelisk located at the eastern end of the George Washington avenue.
Other places of interest are Plaza de la Cultura, which houses the city's most important cultural venues such as the Teatro Nacional and the Museo de Arte Moderno; the Palacio de Bellas Artes, a neoclassical theatre that is the permanent home of the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional (National Symphony Orchestra); the Parque Mirador Sur, a six square kilometers park in the southwestern part of the city; the Faro a Colón, a cross-shaped lighthouse built in honor of Christopher Columbus; and the Boulevard 27 de Febrero, a pedestrian promenade located on the busy Avenida 27 de Febrero which displays many works of art from prominent Dominican artists and sculptors.

Another attraction is the Centro Olímpico Juan Pablo Duarte a sports complex in the center of Santo Domingo. This complex was used during the 2003 Pan-American Games, but has been severely abandoned since.