The Old San Juan City Walls and La Puerta de San Juan

Three miles of masonry standing fifty feet high, finished in 1678 and still running from one fort to the other. It costs nothing, it never closes, and it is the single best hour in the old city for anybody who would rather look at something than queue for it. Walks that take it in are among the walking tours of Old San Juan listings.

The circuit, in walking order

1. Start at El Morro's esplanade

The cleared green field in front of the fort, and the highest point of the walk.

2. Down to the Paseo del Morro

The walkway along the outside of the wall at sea level, beneath the fort.

3. Along the bay to La Puerta de San Juan

The red-doored sea gate, the ceremonial way into the city from the water.

4. Up to La Rogativa

The bronze figures on the wall above the bay, with a garita behind them.

5. Along Calle de la Fortaleza

Past the governor's gates and under the umbrella canopy to Plaza de Armas.

6. East to Castillo San Cristóbal

Where the wall meets the land defence, and the circuit closes.

That last leg brings you to Castillo San Cristóbal, and the first one starts below La Fortaleza on the bay side, so the walk is bracketed by the two buildings the wall was built to protect.

Fifty feet, three miles, 1678

The National Park Service records the figures: a fifty-foot-high wall stretching from El Morro to San Cristóbal, three miles of city wall in total, completed in 1678. Those numbers are hard to picture. Stand on the Paseo del Morro with the masonry going up beside you and a container ship coming into the bay behind, and they arrive at once.

The wall was not decorative. From 1678 San Juan was a closed military city whose gates shut at night. The point of enclosing an islet town was that a small garrison could hold it. The chronology, with the forts, is on the history page.

La Puerta de San Juan, the last sea gate

The red wooden door set into the base of the wall is the one that survives of the city's original ceremonial entrances. Ships anchored in the cove below and arriving dignitaries and bishops came up through it into the city, which is why the street beyond climbs directly to the Cathedral. It is one of the most photographed objects in Puerto Rico and it costs nothing to stand in front of.

The Paseo del Morro

The path along the outside of the wall below El Morro. The park invites visitors onto it by name, for the views across the bay, the Atlantic breeze and the sheer scale of the stonework. It is also flat, which almost nothing else here is. Allow forty minutes there and back from the gate, and note that it is an out-and-back walk rather than a loop.

The circuit in figures

Ninety minutes, end to end, and not a gate on any of it.

Where the wall came down, and why

The circuit is not complete. The eastern stretch came down as the city outgrew its own defences and expanded off the islet. That is the ordinary fate of an enclosed town that survives into a commercial century. What remains is the seaward and bayward arc, which is the scenic half, and the reason the walk described above runs the way it does.

What the wall was actually for

Not for keeping people out on foot. A wall of this kind forces an attacking fleet or army to spend time and casualties on a defended perimeter held by a small garrison. It also gives artillery a platform. That is why it stands fifty feet high rather than thirty, why it runs to the water on three sides, and why a fort closes each end.

It also explains the gates. There were few of them, they were ceremonial as much as practical, and they shut at night. That is why the governor's residence sits inside the line rather than above it.

Getting down to the Paseo, and back up

The Paseo del Morro runs at sea level and the city sits above it, so the walk means a descent and a climb whichever way you do it. The usual way down is through La Puerta de San Juan, which puts you on the water directly beneath the wall. The climb back up the same way is the steepest short pull on the circuit, and it is entirely unshaded.

If that is not for you, the views from the top of the wall along Calle Norzagaray cost nothing and involve no descent at all.

Walking it: how long, how hard, when

Allow ninety minutes for the whole arc at a comfortable pace, or forty minutes for the Paseo alone. It is exposed the entire way, with no shade on the Paseo at all, so the early morning is worth more here than anywhere else in the old city. The ground is uneven and the climb back up from the gate is the steepest short pull on the route.

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