UTUADO. A two-hour drive west of San Juan is worth it to see this fascinating park with 13 acres originally used by the Taino Indians for worship and recreation. A small museum contains artifacts and explains the significance of the 800-year-old site, which includes carved stone monoliths, petroglyphs and a field where a game, similar to soccer, was played. A botanical garden grows and displays the vegetables and plants that were used to sustain the ancient population.

OLD SAN JUAN. Juan Ponce de Leon's family built this house in 1521, two years after his death. Descendents resided here for the next 250 years until the Spanish government seized the home and used it for military housing, making it the oldest continuously occupied residence in the Western Hemisphere. These days it is a museum focusing on Puerto Rican life in the 16th to 18th centuries. Paintings, antiques and artifacts reside within and beautiful gardens bloom in riots of tropical color without.

OLD SAN JUAN. On the north side of the old city, you'll find a convent originally built by Dominican Friars in 1523. Through the years it has served as a religious building, a fortress against Carib Indian raids and the island headquarters of the United States Army. A small museum is located in the chapel. The convent also houses offices of the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña. If you are looking for souvenirs of your time on the island, baskets, masks, the famous cuatro guitars, santos and reproductions of Taíno artifacts are for sale here.

OLD SAN JUAN. Several galleries and a small museum tell the story of El Arsenal, built by the Spanish in the 19th century. Shallow boats were necessary to patrol the mangrove swamps around the city and this marina was where they were housed. El Arsenal was the final Spanish stronghold during the Spanish-American war.

Quartered in a restored 19th-century house, this cozy museum celebrates everything about the book. Over 4000 volumes teach visitors about printing and book making. Some of the most impressive displays are illuminated manuscripts dating from the 15th and 16th centuries.