The Calle del Sol runs through the old town from the Monumento up to the river — a long pedestrianised commercial drag with shops, banks, vendors, and the chaotic energy of a real Dominican downtown. It is the easiest place in the city to see daily life as locals live it, far from any beach resort.
Bargain stores, jewellery shops, electronics, snack stalls, lottery sellers, music spilling out of doorways. There is not much that a tourist needs to actually buy here, but a slow walk along the Calle del Sol gives a more honest sense of the city than any official sight.