It also houses all the nationwide public office's main buildings, called Ministerios (formerly Secretarías de Estado).

"Colonial City") is the oldest continually occupied European settlement in the Western hemisphere, established by Bartholomew Columbus and the Spanish explorers in the New World.

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 restaurants are specialized on the following cuisines: Local, Italian, French, Steakhouse, Mexican, Spanish, Seafood, Chinese and Japanese).

Other places in the area include: 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.

It can be reached from the city center through some 20 miles of recently expanded expressway and new suspension bridge (Puente Presidente Juan Bosch).

The Distrito Nacional is subdivided in incorporated areas (neighborhoods) called sectores which could be considered as small urban towns.