Perched above the Río Chavón gorge, Altos de Chavón is a full-scale recreation of a sixteenth-century Mediterranean village — all hand-cut coral stone, terra-cotta tiles, and cobblestone lanes. It sounds like a theme park concept, but the execution is good enough to make you forget it was built in the 1970s, and the setting above the river is genuinely dramatic.
The village contains galleries, artisan workshops, boutiques, and several restaurants and bars. The regional museum, Museo Arqueológico Regional, holds an important collection of Taíno artifacts. The centrepiece is the 5,000-seat open-air amphitheatre, which still hosts major concerts and events. The views from the village terraces down to the river and across the surrounding hills are reason enough to visit.