http://worldtravelimages.net/San_Salvador.htm
Population: 568 000 (metro 1 767 000)
Capital of El Salvador
San Salvador is the capital of El Salvador and the largest city in the country. It is situated in the southern part of the country, about 10km from the shore of the Pacific Ocean.
San Salvador, or just San Sal, was founded in 1525 by the Spaniard Pedro de Alvarado. San Salvador means "the Holy Saviour" in Spanish. The city is surrounded by green mountains and volcanos, as it is situated in the Boquerón Volcano Valley. The top of the volcano Quetzaltepec (or San Salvador Volcano) can be seen from most parts of the city Even thought there is only 2507000-568 000 inhabitants in the city itself (the exact figure is unsure), it feels very big because the metropolitan area has almost 2 million inhabitants, and is one of the largest in Central America. There is a threat of earthquake, active volcanos, zika virus (2016), bad roads and crimes in San Salvador, but most likely that is nothing you will experience during your visit, unless you are unlucky. If you won't let that scare you, you will find a modern exciting metropolis within only a few hours drive from beautiful beaches (popular for surfing) along the shore of the Pacific Ocean, green mountains, picturesque villages, lakes, maya ruins and volcanos. And the crime rate and poverty is decreasing, the country is developing.
San Salvador consist of mountains, modern highways, fastfood restaurants, lowrise residential buildings, large advertizment signs, large luxorious shopping malls, rundown buildings next to nice buildings, shantytown and a few modern office highrises. In some way it reminds of Los Angeles.
There are 6 districts in San Salvador. The West part is the safest and richest part of the city; especially the popular Zona Rosa neighbourhood, where you find most good hotels, entertainment, restaurants and night clubs. Here is also the posh El Escalón neighbourhood, that is one of the city's best residential areas. The new World Trade Center with the 92 m tall green curved glass office tower Torre Futura is a new shopping, business and restaurant district in El Escalón with fountains and great views of the city. Centro Comercial Galerias, probably the best shopping mall in the city, is also situated here. It features a restored heritage building inside.
There are few highrises and skyscrapers in the city, only a few that are built around traffic circles. Most buildings in San Salvador are lowrise buildings with 1-2 floors, due to earthquake, poverty and personal taste. There are many fastfood restaurants, Mister Donut is the most popular, and serves donuts and typical El Salvadorian (fast) food, and there are no less then 4 chains that are specialized in chicken, Pollo Campello is the largest one. Mc Donald's, Burger King will be found in every corner, as well as many Subways, Dunkin Donuts, Taco Bells and Starbucks. The middle class lives in gated communities, mostly white private residences in some townhouses were you enter through the garage gate and have gratings at the windows, mostly in the West part. The decreasing number of poor people live in sheds in shanty towns, and the working class all over the city. The upper class is very small, but is extremely rich and live in mansions in the mountains, with private drivers.
MY EXPERIENCE:
In August 2016, we made a 2 and a half week long journey to El Salvador. The base was at private homes in the Western part of San Salvador and in Santa Tecla, a suburb just West of San Salvador. From San Salvador we made many daytrips, but also discovered the city. We drove around in a rental van and visited the old town, that was the only part were we could walk (due to safety and lack of pavements), several large and fancy malls, lots of avenues, highways and the surrounding natural sights, like Boquerón Volcano Valley with the Quetzaltepec volcano, those surrounding mountains also are overlooking the city. The capital is just a few hours drive from Ruta del Flores (area in the mountains with many attractions), Santa Ana (2nd largest city) and the Mayan pyramids of Tazumal, all in the West part. It is also about 4 hours drive to Guatemala.
Despite the rumour as one of the world's most crime ridden countries, we felt that it is more likely that the locals give money to you (that happend several times) then rob you.
It can be hard to get around if you don't speak Spanish, but an increasing number of, especially young people, speak more and more English. You also see a lot of English on store signs and restaurants.
Since a few years back, the currency is $US dollars, El Salvador is one of the few countries in the world that use that, except for the USA.
There will also be a separate thread about other parts of El Salvador. You can read a lot more about roads, public transport, food, health and safety in San Salvador on my website here:
http://worldtravelimages.net/San_Salvador.htm
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