The Nidhe Israel Synagogue, tucked behind tall walls on Synagogue Lane, is one of the oldest synagogues in the Americas. A Jewish community — largely Sephardic merchants who had fled the Inquisition via the Netherlands and Brazil — was established in Barbados by the 1650s, and this site has been a place of worship ever since, though the current building dates from 1833, replacing the original destroyed by hurricane.
The adjoining museum is the real draw. It covers the history of Barbadian Jews from their arrival in the 1620s through the 20th century, with particular attention to the sugar trade and to the complex position of Jewish merchants in a slave-based economy. The cemetery alongside the synagogue has tombstones with inscriptions in Hebrew, Portuguese, and English — some dating back to the 17th century, bleached but still legible. Entry includes access to both the synagogue interior and the museum. Open Monday to Friday.