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 19th-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 cannons 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 way 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.'

It's the oldest town in Barbados, but you'd hardly know it from its modern appearance. Founded in the 1620s, Holetown is now a major cog in the island's tourism machine. You can absorb some of the town's history at St James Church, a 19th-century structure that still has traces of its 17th-century past, including a bell inscribed with the name of King William. Folkestone Park fronts a narrow beach where you can picnic, snorkel (there's a sunken barge nearby) when the water is calm or surf when the waves are up. There's a marine museum in the park with exhibits on fishing and boat building.

This limestone coral mansion on the southern coast's Long Bay has an interesting, albeit much embellished, history. The mansion was constructed by Sam Lord who, according to legend, hung 'wrecker' lanterns off the point to lure ships onto nearby Cobbler's Reef. The ships thought they were entering a safe harbor, and when they crashed on the reef Lord purportedly went down to collect the cargo. Although there's little doubt that Lord was a scoundrel, most historians discount the lantern story as folklore. Lord's former home looks like a stately residence rather than a castle and contains a modest collection of paintings and antique furnishings.

Along the southwestern coast there's a cluster of small, low-key towns with excellent beaches that provide much of the island's low to mid-range accommodations. St Lawrence, about 15km (9mi) southeast of Bridgetown, is the liveliest, offering plenty of opportunities to boogie down or fill up on flying fish. Dover Beach, the town strand, has powdery white sand. A few minutes' walk west along the beach at low tide brings you to the towns of Worthing and Hastings, which have interesting local crafts and lovely white-sand beaches.