Bridgetown
Wandering bustling Bridgetown with its many sights and old colonial buildings can easily occupy a day. There is good shopping, especially along Broad St and on pedestrian-only Swan St, which buzzes with the rhythms of local culture. The entire downtown area and south to the Garrison was recognized by UNESCO in 2012 for its historical significance.
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St Michael’s Cathedral
The island’s Anglican cathedral was originally completed in 1665 to accommodate 3000 worshippers, but came tumbling down in a hurricane a century later. Today’s structure dates from 1789.

Parliament Buildings
On the north side of National Heroes Square are two stone-block, neo-Gothic-style buildings constructed in 1871. The west-side building with the clock tower contains public offices; the building on the east side houses the Senate and House of Assembly. At the museum learn about the island’s proud democratic heritage.

Nidhe Israel Museum
Housed in a restored 1750 Jewish community centre, this museum documents the fascinating story of the Barbados Jewish community. You can also visit the nearby 1833 Barbados Synagogue

Parliament Market
A series of small wooden huts behind the Parliament buildings has both produce and lunch items. Some of the region’s finest chicken soup comes from a green hut without a sign but with a pile of sugar beets out front.

Cave Shepherd
The island’s grand old department store has well-priced rum and a quality souvenir section. There’s a decent book department.

George Washington House
n 1751, at age 19 – some 38 years before he would become the first US president – George Washington visited Barbados as a companion to his half-brother Lawrence, who suffered from tuberculosis. It was hoped that the tropical climate would prove therapeutic.
The pair rented a house in the Garrison area and stayed on the island for six weeks. The restored George Washington House gives a fascinating glimpse of the trip and the time. As it was, Lawrence never recovered and died the next year.

Garrison Savannah Area
The Garrison is part of the World Heritage zone and was the home of the British command in the 1800s. A focal point is the oval-shaped Savannah, which was once parade grounds and is now used for cricket games, jogging and Saturday horse races.
Standing along the west side of the Savannah are some of the Garrison’s more ornate colonial buildings, where you’ll find the world’s largest collection of 17th-century cannons.

Mount Gay Rum Visitors Centre
The aged rums here are some of Barbados’ best. The visitor center is about 1km north of Bridgetown Harbour.

Barbados Museum
This excellent museum is housed in an early-19th-century military prison. It has engaging displays on all aspects of the island’s history, beginning with its early indigenous residents.

Accra Beach
The largest beach in the area, it is a picture-perfect crescent of sand. Backed by shade trees, there’s moderate surf. The new boardwalk allows you to walk west for more than 3km to Hastings.
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Sandy Beach
A nice strip of white powder without a clever name that’s well off the main road. The water defines ‘turquoise.’
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Oistins
The fishing village of Oistins is the place to be two nights a week. Featuring soca, reggae, pop and country music, vendors selling barbecued fish and plenty of rum drinking, the legendary Oistins Fish Fry (6-10:30pm Fri & Sat) draws mobs. It’s roughly 60% locals, 40% tourists and there’s a joyous electricity in the air on Friday night, which is just a tad more fun than the fish fry’s other night, Saturday. It’s held in a complex of low-rise modern buildings right on the sand next to the fish market.
Some tips:
- Standard menu: Most of the stalls serve the same menu: grilled fish and shellfish, pork chops, ribs and chicken. Sides include macaroni pie, chips, plaintains, grilled breadfruit, garlic bread and more. Unless you specify, you’ll get a bit of each side with your main. It costs about B$35 per person.
- Standards vary: Just because there’s more than 30 vendors serving the same menu doesn’t mean all are created equal. Go with the crowds, they know.
- Drinks: Buy a cheap and icy bottle of Banks (B$3) and plunge in. Some of the open-air bars like the ever-golden Lexie’s (Fish Market, Oistins Beach; 24hr) never close. People have been known to lose all inhibitions and even propose!

St. Lawrence Gap
The real action here lies along a 1.5km-long road that runs close to the beach and is lined with hotels, bars, restaurants and shops. It’s mostly free of traffic, allowing night-time strolling.
The west end is known as St Lawrence Gap; the east end carries the Dover Beach moniker.
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Dover Beach
a nice, broad ribbon of white sand that attracts swimmers, bodysurfers and windsurfers.
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Hastings & Rockley
Hastings and Rockley are home to some attractive, popular beaches. Commercialism rules, although there’s an attractive new boardwalk on the waterfront east of Hastings.
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Worthington
A good base if you’re on a tight budget but still want to be near the action. Worthing has some good inexpensive dining choices; for a special dinner, head down the road to St Lawrence Gap.

Silver Sands
At the southernmost tip of the island, between Oistins and the airport, is the breezy, kitesurfing-mecca of Silver Sands.

Paynes Bay Beach
Fringed by a fine stretch of white sand, gently curving Paynes Bay in St James is endlessly popular and is the west coast’s most popular spot for swimming and snorkelling (you will almost certainly see sea turtles).
Have your paparazzi moment at the celebrity-studded beach in front of the ultra-exclusive Sandy Lane hotel – there’s public access along the resort’s north wall.

Holetown
The first English settlers to Barbados landed at Holetown in 1627. Long a bastion of understated luxury, Holetown has exclusive shops and a charming little nightlife area near the beach. There’s lots of good snorkelling in the mellow waters and reefs here. The Holetown area has some of the island’s most vaunted resorts, many in former mansions of the fabulously wealthy. Holetown’s best attribute is its little enclave of bars and restaurants that mix the grand with the pedestrian.

Weston
This is the west coast in a nutshell: a fish market and fruit stand on the waterfront with a couple of church steeples as a backdrop. The nearby rum shop, John Moore Bar, offers a heady mix of genial local characters and their newfound visitor friend

Mullins Beach
A popular and family-friendly beach along Hwy 1 between Holetown and Speights-town, the waters are usually calm and good for swimming and snorkelling. Drinks from the boisterous café are delivered to your beach chair.

Speightstown
Easily the most evocative small town on Barbados, Speightstown combines old colonial charm with a vibe that has more rough edges than the endlessly upscale precincts to the south. Since the main road was moved to the charmless bypass east, traffic is modest, so take time strolling to look up at the battered old wooden facades.

Hunte's Gardens
One man’s vision of a verdant tropical fantasy.
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Welchman Hall Gully
A surviving tract of original Barbados tropical rainforest.
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Flower Forest
A 20-hectare botanic garden is on the site of a former sugar estate which has many stately mature citrus and breadfruit trees.
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St. Nicholas Abbey
A Jacobean-style mansion that is one of the oldest plantation houses in the Caribbean and a must-see stop on any island itinerary.

Cherry Tree Hill
Cherry Tree Hill has grand views right across the Atlantic coast.

Andromeda Botanic Gardens
A wide collection of tropical plants, including orchids, ferns, water lilies, bougainvillea, cacti and palms.

Bathsheba
Bathsheba is prime surfing country. It’s also good for long beach walks as you contemplate feeling you’ve reached the end of the world. It’s an idyllic image of sand, sea and palm trees. If you’re not an expert swimmer, this is not really the place to go into the water; rather, enjoy the wave-tossed scenery on long beach walks.

Soup Bowl Reef
The world-famous reef break known as the Soup Bowl is right off the beach and is one of the best waves in the Caribbean islands. Don’t underestimate the break just because the region is not known for powerful surf – Soup Bowl gets big. The best months are August to March.