Castillo de San Marcos
National Monument

Castillo de San Marcos National Monument is located downtown St. Augustine, right on the water edge. It is surrounded by a large recreation area where tired visitors like to stretch their legs or have a picnic, weather permitting.  From there, it is easy to understand why the founders of the city picked this particular location to settle down and build a fort there.

With more than 300 years of America’s history and culture, construction of the Castillo de San Marcos is one of the oldest standing structures in North America.  Also, it is the oldest masonry fort in the U.S.  Its purpose was to protect St. Augustine, the first permanent settlement by Europeans in the continental U.S.

The fort has been converted into a museum with several exhibits and most weekends include reenactments of the battles between Spain and the British, which is one of our favorite attractions in this category.

A military crew in period uniforms operates big cannons and every few minutes literally fires one off with a loud sound and plenty of smoke. A park ranger shouts: "cover your ears" just before the discharge to warn the crowd.

At the park you can pick up self-guided tour brochures. They are available in English, Spanish, German, Japanese, Russian, Dutch, Italian, and French.

I happen to visit this place quite often and like to take a walk around the fort every time our family travels to St. Augustine. For information on operating hours, fees and reservations and directions go to parks’ official website: http://www.nps.gov/casa