Bridgetown packs a surprising amount of history into a compact area. The UNESCO-listed historic centre rewards slow walking — around the Careenage waterfront, through the Parliament Buildings, and south to the old Garrison. The Nidhe Israel Synagogue and its museum tell a remarkable story of Caribbean Jewish life going back to the 1650s, while the Barbados Museum in the Garrison buildings is one of the best in the region.
Cricket is the city's other great draw. Kensington Oval is one of the most storied grounds in the West Indies, and a match day here is as much a social event as a sporting one.