Santo Domingo City

Christopher Columbus' brother founded the Dominican Republic's capital city of Santo Domingo in 1496. A number of New World 'firsts' occurred here, including the first cathedral, university, monastery and hospital. This is also where Spanish conquistadors set off to conquer the rest of the Caribbean, and regions of North, Central and South America. The city definitely experienced its share of trouble over the following centuries. For example, It was destroyed by an earthquake in 1562; captured, looted and burnt down by Sir Francis Drake in 1586; attacked by both British and French forces over most of the 17th century; and dominated by Haitian forces, more or less until the early part of the 20th century when peace was restored.
Since that time it has exploded with industry and urban migration. Today Santo Domingo is a bustling and
cosmopolitan city with 2.5 million inhabitants. It boasts activities for everyone - museums, ballet, opera,
baseball games, and the best nightlife, restaurants and shopping to be found in the Dominican Republic.
The average temperature doesn't vary a lot in city because the tropical trade winds help mitigate the heat and humidity throughout the year. December and January are the coolest months and July and August are the warmest months.