Santurce is the cultural heart of modern San Juan — gritty, vital, and where the city's contemporary art, music, and street-food scenes happen. The two main art museums (MAPR and MAC) are here, the food-truck park Lote 23 anchors a thriving casual-dining scene around La Placita de Santurce, and the streets are covered in the largest concentration of mural art in the Caribbean, much of it dating from the Santurce es Ley festival.
The neighbourhood is large and the appeal varies block by block — Calle Loíza is the up-and-coming dining strip, La Placita is the late-night drinks scene, and the warehouse blocks between Ponce de León and Roosevelt are where the studios and galleries cluster. It is half an hour from Old San Juan by taxi. Do not walk between unrelated parts of Santurce at night.