Paseo de la Princesa

Paseo de la Princesa
From top, left to right: Starting point of Paseo de la Princesa at remaining portion of southern section of the Walls of Old San Juan next to Bastión de la Derecha de San Justo y Pastor; midpoint next to Antigua Prisión La Princesa (Princess Old Prison) and adorned with Fuente Raíces (Roots Fountain); waterfront part of promenade next to San Juan Bay across from Isla de Cabras; and its endpoint at Puerta de San Juan (San Juan Gate) on the western section of the Walls of Old San Juan below La Fortaleza
Interactive
General information
Type	Promenade
Architectural style	Fortification, Spanish Renaissance, Victorian
Location	Old San Juan, Puerto Rico
Coordinates	18°27′48″N 66°7′6″W / 18.46333°N 66.11833°W / 18.46333; -66.11833
Opened	1852–54
Owner	Government of Puerto Rico

Paseo de la Princesa (English: Promenade of the Princess or Princess Promenade), is a partially waterside 19th-century pedestrian promenade about .50 miles (0.80 km) in length located in the historic district of Old San Juan in Puerto Rico. Constructed between 1852 and 1854 in honor of Queen Isabella II of Spain’s first-born, Princess of Asturias Infanta Isabel, the promenade runs adjacent and parallel to the southwestern section of the Walls of Old San Juan, passing through the Fuente Raíces (Roots Fountain) honoring Puerto Rican identity, and ending at Puerta de San Juan (San Juan Gate), the starting location of Paseo del Morro (Promenade of the Morro).^[1][2] Lined with Victorian lampposts and benches, large trees and gardens, and varying fountains and sculptures, it hosts food and artisan vendors, musical and theatrical entertainers, and cultural restaurants and festivals.^[3]

The promenade starts at Bastión de la Derecha de San Justo y Pastor (Left-side Bastion of San Justo and Pastor) on the Walls of Old San Juan in Marina, the southernmost sub-barrio in Old San Juan on the San Juan Islet, passing through passing by the Antigua Prisión La Princesa (The Princess Old Prison) from 1837, currently housing the Puerto Rico Tourism Company, and the popular Fuente Raíces (Roots Fountain), a large sculptural fountain overlooking San Juan Bay since 1992 that represents Puerto Rican identity, a mixture of Taino, Spanish, and Sub-Saharan African ancestry and culture, and ending in the southwestern sub-barrio of Catedral in Old San Juan at the beginning of the western section of the Walls of Old San Juan at Puerta de San Juan (San Juan Gate), formerly known as Puerta de Agua (Water Gate), which lies next to La Fortaleza, the 16th-century executive residence of the Governor of Puerto Rico, and is the starting location of Paseo del Morro (Promenade of the Morro), the waterfront promenade covering the rest of the western section of the defensive walls, culminating on Punta del Morro (Morro Point) at the bottom of Castillo San Felipe del Morro at the westernmost position on San Juan Islet overlooking the entrance to San Juan Bay, the Bar Channel.^[4]