Roseau is a small, walkable Caribbean capital where the main pleasures are the painted timber houses, the riverside Saturday market, and a handful of historic buildings tucked into a French colonial grid. The town can be covered on foot in a morning, and most visitors then head into the surrounding mountains.
The Dominica Museum on the waterfront is the best primer on the island's history; the Botanic Gardens behind the town give a gentler introduction to its flora. Fort Young, the cathedral, and the cricket-mad Windsor Park round out the central highlights.