Dominican Republic · Distrito Nacional · Santo Domingo
Cristo Rey, Santo Domingo — Area Guide & Where to Stay
Cristo Rey grew as a resettlement sector of Santo Domingo in the years around 1970, and Estadio Quisqueya Juan Marichal stands within it.
About Cristo Rey
Where to stay in Cristo Rey
Where you base yourself shapes the visit — here's the character of each area.
Nobody comes to Cristo Rey for a hotel. Cristo Rey is densely settled residential ground rather than a visitor quarter, and travellers to Santo Domingo almost always take rooms in other parts of the Distrito Nacional. The sector carries a reputation for crime.
That reputation is part of the published record on Cristo Rey, and what brings outsiders in is daytime business at Estadio Quisqueya Juan Marichal or the National Zoo rather than an overnight stay.
About Cristo Rey
What are the main landmarks in Cristo Rey?
One name carries the sector. Estadio Quisqueya Juan Marichal, the stadium that bears Juan Marichal's name, is the single landmark the record attaches to Cristo Rey. The zoo sits close by.
The National Zoo was built on the Arroyo Riverside in the years around 1970, in the same wave of construction that settled this ground, so the two belong to one period in the growth of the Distrito Nacional.
What is the history of Cristo Rey?
Resettlement made this sector. Cristo Rey was formed in the last major resettlement of farming families, most of them arriving from other provinces, in the years around 1970 to 1974. The zoo came with them.
The National Zoo was laid out on the Arroyo Riverside during that same span, and the sector that resulted is densely settled ground inside the Distrito Nacional of the Dominican Republic.
Where is Cristo Rey?
Cristo Rey covers densely settled ground in the Distrito Nacional of Santo Domingo, near the Arroyo Riverside where the National Zoo was built.
More areas in Santo Domingo
Updated September 2026