Castillo Serrallés

The Serrallés family made their money from sugar and then from rum, and in the 1930s they built themselves a house on the hill above Ponce in the Spanish Revival manner: a tiled courtyard with a fountain at its centre, carved wooden ceilings, wrought iron, and terraced gardens stepping down the slope. It is one of very few houses of that era on the island preserved with its furnishings, and the guided tour uses it to explain how the sugar and rum economy worked. Beside it stands the Cruceta del Vigía, a thirty-metre concrete cross built in 1984 on the site of an old lookout, with a lift to an observation deck that takes in the whole city and the Caribbean.

History

The mansion was built in the 1930s for Juan Eugenio Serrallés, son of Juan Serrallés, founder of the Serrallés distillery. It was emptied in 1956, and the city of Ponce later bought it from the heirs for US$400,000, with much of the furniture, and opened it as a museum (Wikipedia, Castillo Serrallés).

What you'll find

• The courtyard and interiors - tiled patio, carved ceilings and original furniture.
• The terraced gardens - stepping down the hillside below the house.
• The Cruceta del Vigía - the cross-shaped tower and its observation deck.
• The view over Ponce - city, cane country and the Caribbean beyond.

When to go

December to April is drier and clearer for the tower view. The house is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays and runs on timed guided tours. Late afternoon gives the best light over the city, but check the last tour time.

Things to know

Entry to the house is by guided tour only, on a fixed schedule and often in Spanish, with English tours less frequent. The tower is ticketed separately. It sits on a steep hill above the city with no realistic walking route up, so a car or taxi is needed.

Nearby

Ponce's plaza and firehouse are ten minutes below; the art museum is nearby.

Key facts