Distrito Nacional | |
Province | |
Country | Dominican Republic |
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Capital | Santo Domingo de Guzmán |
- elevation | 14 m (46 ft) |
- coordinates | |
Area | 104.44 km2 (40 sq mi) |
Population | 1,587,412 (2011 estimate) |
Density | 15,199 / km2 (39,365 / sq mi) |
District since | 1932 |
Subdivisions | 1 municipalities 0 municipal districts |
Congresspersons | 1 Senator 18 Deputies |
Timezone | AST (UTC-4) |
Area code | 1-809 1-829 1-849 |
ISO 3166-2 | DO-01 |
Postal Code | 10100 to 10699 |
Location of the Distrito Nacional
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Website: http://www.adn.gov.do | |
The Distrito Nacional (Spanish pronunciation: [disˈtɾito naθjoˈnal]) (D.N.) is a subdivision of the Dominican Republic enclosing the capital Santo Domingo. It is not within any of the provinces, but is itself counted as a province. Before October 16, 2001, the Distrito Nacional was much larger, including what is now known as Santo Domingo Province. Published statistics and maps generally show the former, larger, Distrito Nacional. The Distrito Nacional has no rural or undeveloped areas.
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The Poligono Central is the central area of Santo Domingo. Upscale neighborhoods of Naco, Piantini, and Paraiso are located within this central poligon. Most of the financial activity in Santo Domingo is also located in the poligon.
The Distrito Nacional houses the central government's executive branch Presidential Office (Palacio Nacional), the national congressional building (Congreso Nacional) and the top judicial court building (Suprema Corte de Justicia). It also houses all the nationwide public office's main buildings, called Ministerios (formerly Secretarías de Estado).
For the main article, please select Ciudad Colonial.
The Ciudad Colonial (lit. "Colonial City") is the very first settlement made by Christopher Columbus and the Spanish explorers in the New World. It has several historic landmarks and is declared as World Heritage Site by the UNESCO.
There are various nightlife activities available inside the Distrito Nacional. Upscale nightclubs, casinos, hotels, restaurants with international bars are widely available. Discothèque DJs and live performances caters both local sounds (merengue, salsa or bachata) and dance music (house, techno, trance, reggaeton, drum and bass, etc.) Most nightclubs alternate between the two main genres; some other clubs stick almost exclusively to either one. Several chain restaurants are available serving dinner up to midnight. Most restaurants within hotels don't close at all, and the majority of casinos serve complimentary snacks all night. Most restaurants are specialized on the following cuisines: Local, Italian, French, Steakhouse, Mexican, Spanish, Seafood, Chinese and Japanese). There are several movie cinemas that play movies in english (with subtitles) and are on par with worldwide premiers. Jazz music outlets, live theater, live concerts and sports events are available throghtout the whole week.
Distrito Nacional has several urban parks, the largest one, Parque Mirador Sur, overlooking the Caribbean Sea from a high cliff from the Avenida Mirador Sur (also called Avenida de la Salud - Health Avenue). It has several miles of open road designed for picnic, jogging and cycling. Roller skating and even Kendo are regularly practiced in areas of the park.
Other places worth mentioning are:
There are several shopping malls that represent international brands of clothing, electronic goods, gifts and the like. Banks, barber shops, internet cafés, travel agencies, dental offices and supermarkets can all be found under a single roof.
There are plenty of public (government funded) and private schools that offer teaching in both Spanish and English. Among the public universities is worth mentioning the first university of the Americas, Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo, is located near the center-south of the city. The first private university, Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra, has a campus nearby.
The Distrito Nacional boasts the first and only underground public transportation system in the country. The first line connects the Distrito Nacional with Santo Domingo Norte.
Other means of public transportation include: taxi services, public bus routes, urban transportation by bus, local airports and rent cars. International flights are handled by the near Las Américas International Airport. It can be reach from the city center through some 20 miles of recently-expanded expressway and new suspension bridge (Puente Presidente Juan Bosch).
Tourists can rent a car provided he or she is of legal age (18 years old) and can provide a valid driver's license, for up to three months. International Driving Permit have the same allotted time limitations.
Is important to note that there are restrictions concerning manual transmission (rarely applied) and passenger capacity limits (driving, for example, a minibus with a capacity of over 8 passengers plus luggage requires a license for such type of vehicle).
The nation's driving alcohol limit is zero (any measured level of alcohol above 0.01% while driving a motor vehicle carries a fine and possible vehicle impound a/o arrest). Also, talking on a cell phone (without the aid of a speakerphone a/o hands-free microphone) or driving not wearing the seatbelt (front seat passengers) carries a steep fine. Fines are payable only in cash and exclusively in the Autoridad Metropolitana de Santo Domingo (AMET) building in downtown, business hours only.
Driving is on the right side of the road and the city's speed limit is 100 Km/h (60 MPH). Pleasy try to keep your distance from public buses, specially when driving on the right lane, as they tend to pull over without much warning.
The Distrito Nacional is represented in the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies on the same scale as a Province (a single Senator (Senador), plus one Deputy (Diputado) per 50,000 inhabitants). Its local government is the same as the provincial municipios, without the equivalent of a provincial tier of government.
The Distrito Nacional is subdivided in incorporated areas (neighbourhoods) called sectores which could be considered as small urban towns. All sectores are serviced directly by the municipal mayor's office (síndico municipal).
Some sectores prefixes:
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