Things to do in Barbados

Bridgetown

The capital of Barbados is a busy commercial city set on Carlisle Bay, the island's only natural harbor. It's short on must-see sights but certainly worth sauntering around for half a day. It's an architectural hodgepodge of modern and colonial, with side streets leading off into residential neighborhoods sprinkled with rum shops and chattel houses. True to the island's British heritage, there are monumental obelisks, gothic parliament buildings, and a large Anglican cathedral. More surprising perhaps is Bridgetown's distinctive 19-century synagogue; the first synagogue on this site was built in the 1600s, when Barbados had a Jewish population of more than 300.

Bridgetown's outdoor attractions include the Careenage, a finger-like inlet lined with recreational boats that cuts into the heart of the city; and Queen's Park, which has good picnicking lawns and a huge old baobab tree for shade. Military history buffs should head to the Barbados Garrison, the 17th-century base of the British Windward and Leeward Islands Command. It has a museum, fortifications, brigs and canons a-plenty. The Barbados Museum has engaging exhibits, and for a quick immersion in the island's history you couldn't do better than to spend an hour or two here. The best place to wrap up the day is to visit the street foodstalls and rum shops along the well-lit sections of Baxter's Rd, Bridgetown's 'street that never sleeps.'