fortaleza street

Lots of shopping and interesting people watching. Read the review about a man asking a reviewer below about money to make a phone call and we were approached by the same gentleman; we didn't see any payphones either ! Shops for all members of the family and was a good way to spend an afternoon.

Starting at Agua Viva and working your way up to Dragon Fly, Parrot Club, Marmalade, Tres Cent Once and beyond up to Calle Cristo you can find a good to great, humble to fancy restaurant that will meet or exceed your expectations. Also plenty of shops along the way to browse and enjoy.

We love visiting Old San Juan & Fortaleza Street. Lots of shops with homemade Arts, Crafts, Jewelry and Religious Items from Local Artists. I have bought many pairs of earrings, ceramic, beach glass and enamel crafts. Great restaurants too. Enjoy looking at the doors in Old San Juan too. Visit the Poet's Passage off the square if you have time.

Fortaleza Street was a very busy and tourist shopping area of Old San Juan if your budget can handle the prices. The direction travels from the Governors House (west) to Fort 2 (east). The properties are well preserved with beautiful rich colors. There are plenty of upscale shops to choose from. Be mindful, just watch where you walk in some of the northern streets, no offense to PR, but there are still some elements of homelessness and they don't mind walking up to you to ask for money. One guy asked us for quarters so he can make a payphone call, but we did not see payphones in Old San Juan?! Other than that, you will enjoy yourself with some very unique shops and nice people!

Lots of stores with a good selection of local art & goods made on the island. Great place to people watch and see the sites of Old San Juan.

This street is an important tourist oriented street in Old San Juan. Many restaurants, bars and shopping joints. Walking distance from Ships and main Tourist Atractions.

This appears to be the main cruise-ship shopping street. It's the side streets off of it and the squares that give real beauty to Old San Juan. I did read that there are better bargains in places like St. Thomas, if you happen to be on a cruise ship making multiple stops.You follow Fortaleza Street all the way west to the governor's palace, which is very pretty. The grounds are open during the week, 9 to 4, but not on weekends.

On this cruise, we finally had enough time to walk along Fortaleza Street. We turned into this street to return to the cruise ship piers after visiting the museums by the El Morro fort and the Cathredal de San Juan Bautista. It was around closing time after a heavy rain, so the narrow streets and sidewalks were not badly congested. I had high hopes of my shopping experience after reading in the guidebooks to head to this street for shopping. Perhaps some find visiting streets like this charming, but the old shops with poor lighting, dusty store front windows, of little interest tourist souvenirs, poor taste slogans on T-shirts were a real turn off for me. They reminded me of second hand shops back home with items of no interest to me, not even the jewellery shops which I usually like to window shop at. However, one shop - the linen shop - did look interesting, but the items for sale where not the type I would buy. Some lovely placemats caught my eye, but were, pricewise, expensive for me. I did not inquire if the prices were negotiable. Calle Fortaleza is a narrow, cobbled, one way street. I did notice the trolley stop signs on the street, but passed none. I guess I was lucky to be walking downhill on Calle Fortaleza towards the cruise ship pier on a cloudy late afternoon as it was quite a comfortable walk temperature wise and crowd wise, but I can imagine how uncomfortable I would be walking on this enclosed street on a sunny day, with no cooling breezes, dodging cars and pedestrians. The sidewalk on this street was narrow, and, with many tourists using it, I would become quite tired bumping into people or moving out of their way. The blocks were short on this street so walking it steadily from one end to the other would take, I think, around 15 minutes or so. The shops with the designer goods on Calle Cristo were more interesting but certainly not like the shopping outlets back home. These shops looked inviting, but small, with minimal merchandise. I was curious about what Calle Fortaleza was like and now that I know I will probably not return to it on future cruise stops at San Juan, but will explore other near by streets. Now for a charming street, walk along the Calle de Sol.

This is your typical tourist shopping district. If you are looking for souvenirs to bring home to friends and family then this is the place. If you hate everything touristy and kitchy skip this street.

I want to say I enjoyed walking this street, but it reminded me of Chinatown in NYC. Full of crap you don't need, and overpriced. We only enjoyed a little local shop that have handmade hats and antiques which is why I gave 2 stars. If you want to look like a tourist and waste cash that could be buying you a fantastic meal, then by all means...

Beautiful old buildings, lovely shops, and great restaurants. What's not to like? The atmosphere is old world, but the vibe is lively and festive.

It was cool. The streets were narrow, the drivers aggressive, the traffic dense, and the experience Carnivalesque. We enjoyed it, but we had a week to acclimatize to Puerto Rico. I think if this had been the first thing we had done we wouldn't have enjoyed it as much. A lot of little shops along the road to take your money, just added to the fun. It was the Puerto Rican version of Wall Drug. It won't appeal to everyone, and in small doses we enjoy it.

It's easy too spend a day in and out of the shops and this street also offers nice restaurant choices. If you're spending time in Old San Juan you will most likely find yourself on this street.

An absolute zoo around the holidays, particularly when the cruise ships disgorge their passengers. This made it uncomfortably crowded during the day. At night, as the cruise ships left, it was much easier to get around on foot, though I'd never recommend taking a car into old San Juan. See the Governor's mansion and the little chapel here after the crowds have left and you'll go from two stars to three, or even four if you like shopping for kitch.

This steer was our favorite part of the city. We love the colors, lights, and old world charm. this cobblestone street is lined with high end shopping and excellent local cuisine. Must see.