9 Best Sights in Ponce and the Porta Caribe, Puerto Rico

This lovely Spanish-style villa—so massive that townspeople dubbed it a castle—was built in the 1930s for Ponce's wealthiest family, the makers of Don Q rum. Guided tours provide a glimpse into the lifestyle of a sugar baron, and a permanent exhibit explains the area's sugarcane and rum industries. Highlights include the dining room, with original hand-carved furnishings, and the extensive garden, with sculptured bushes and a shimmering reflection pool. A large cross looming over the house is an observatory; from the top, you can see the Caribbean.

Built for sugar, cattle, and coffee baron Genaro Cautiño Vázquez and his wife, Genoveva Insúa, Casa Cautiño is an elegant neoclassical home dating from 1887. The painstakingly restored exterior features a balcony with ornate grillwork. You'll be swept back in time walking through the rooms, which are filled with the original Victorian-era furnishings. Don't miss the modern-for-its-time bathroom, complete with a standing shower. The museum is on the main square.

This criollo-style house bears the name of poet and activist Lola Rodríguez de Tió. Although a plaque claims she lived here, town officials believe it actually belonged to her sister. Rodríguez, whose mother was a descendant of Ponce de León, was deported several times by Spanish authorities for her revolutionary ideas. She lived in Venezuela and then in Cuba, where she died in 1924. The museum, which houses Rodríguez's desk and papers, doesn't maintain regular hours; call ahead to schedule a tour with the local Interamerican University.

East of the Plazuela de Santo Domingo, this 19th-century house (a private residence) is known for its eclectic architecture, which mixes neoclassical and criollo elements. Note the elegant stained glass over the front windows.

Facing Plazuela de Santo Domingo, this Victorian-style house was designed in 1913 by architect Pedro Vivoni for his brother, Tomás. The gleaming white structure has numerous towers and gables. The current owners have kept it in mint condition. It is not open to the public.

You'll find an excellent example of Puerto Rican ornamental architecture in this white, gigantic but elegant, 1920 mansion, which sits a block south of Plazuela Santo Domingo. Note the sensuous curves of the wraparound balcony and wood trim around the doors. It's not open to the public.

Just a few blocks from the main square, the Centro de Bellas Artes is housed in a beautifully restored neoclassical building. Paintings by local artists fill its 11 rooms.

Banker and industrialist Carlos Armstrong and his wife, Eulalia Pou, lived in this neoclassical house designed and built for them in 1901 by Manuel V. Domenech. The building has undergone a top-to-bottom renovation, and now you can admire the ornate facade, which is chock-full of columns, statues, and intricate moldings. Original furnishings belonging to the family are on display.

Off the main square, the Museo Histórico de Coamo is appropriately housed in the former residence of one of the city's illustrious citizens, Clotilde Santiago, a wealthy farmer and merchant born in 1826. The museum is on the second floor of this sprawling, tangerine-color building, which dates from 1863. Several rooms are decorated with colonial-style furnishings; photographs of the town and the Santiago family line the walls.