What the Zona Rosa is
The Zona Rosa of San Salvador is the part of Colonia San Benito that grows around Boulevard del Hipódromo. In a few blocks it packs the highest density of restaurants and bars in the country, two of its most important museums, galleries, hotels, and many of the city’s embassies and corporate offices.
It is also one of the few parts of San Salvador where people really walk. Almost everything below is less than three hundred metres from the boulevard.
The two museums, 300 metres away
On Avenida La Revolución, about three hundred metres from the boulevard, are the two museums you should see in San Salvador, side by side:
- MARTE, Museo de Arte de El Salvador. The country’s most important collection of modern and contemporary Salvadoran art, with temporary exhibitions that change several times a year.
- Museo Nacional de Antropología Dr. David J. Guzmán (MUNA). The long story of the land: pre-Hispanic archaeology, farming, faith and the country that took shape on top of it.
You can see both in one morning. Check their opening hours before you go: they usually close one weekday.
The Monumento a la Revolución
About two hundred and twenty metres away, on the square at the top of the neighbourhood, stands the Monumento a la Revolución: the nude mosaic figure with open arms that the city calls «El Chulón». It is the area’s natural lookout and the spot where almost everyone takes a photo.
Eating and going out
Boulevard del Hipódromo and its side streets are the capital’s food district: Salvadoran cooking, grills, Peruvian, Japanese, Italian, specialty coffee and bars that fill up from Thursday to Saturday. We cover it separately in the guide on where to eat in the Zona Rosa.
A practical note
The Zona Rosa is easy to walk by day, and at night along the boulevard itself, which is well lit and busy. To go further —Multiplaza, the historic centre, Escalón— people usually take a car; the front desk can arrange a taxi or a rental car.
A little further, still close
| Place | What it is | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| World Trade Center | Corporate offices and embassies | 1.1 km |
| Galerías Escalón | Mall, cinema and restaurants | 1.5 km |
| Estadio Cuscatlán | The largest stadium in Central America | 2.1 km |
| Multiplaza | The largest mall in the country | 2.8 km |
| La Gran Vía | Open-air mall | 3.1 km |
| Historic centre | Cathedral, Teatro Nacional, Palacio Nacional | 5.1 km |
Straight-line distances from Boulevard del Hipódromo #44.