{"id":1338,"date":"2017-09-15T15:43:09","date_gmt":"2017-09-15T19:43:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/barbados.org\/blog\/?p=1338"},"modified":"2025-08-25T15:49:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-25T19:49:10","slug":"top-5-barbados-heritage-sites","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/barbados.org\/blog\/top-5-barbados-heritage-sites\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 5 Barbados Heritage Sites"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Barbados is a country with a rich heritage and a wonderful merger of West African, British and other influences. Here are our favourite heritage sites on the island&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. Historic Bridgetown and it&#8217;s Garrison<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Head to this UNESCO World Heritage Site to see the strong British military influence on the island. At the <strong>Garrison<\/strong> side of the site, visit Barbados Museum and George Washington House, see the incredible cannon collection that lines the horse racing track, and admire the architecture of historic buildings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From the Garrison, you can walk (about 15 mins) or hop on a bus to <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/barbados.org\/btown.htm\">Bridgetown<\/a><\/strong>, the capital city of Barbados. In the 1700&#8217;s and 1800&#8217;s&nbsp;Bridgetown was a hub for trade and commerce. Today it is still a lively city with many duty-free shops, small local stores,&nbsp; and historical sights. We particularly recommend a visit to the Jewish Synagogue &amp; Museum, St. Mary&#8217;s Church, and Barbados Museum of Parliament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"iframe-wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/d\/embed?mid=1m-NZlvfo-13Lcnt6Ig-_oxiKbwg&amp;hl=en\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. Gun Hill Signal Station<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Located on a commanding hilltop location, this site offers <strong>panoramic views<\/strong> of the south and west coasts of the island. This is one of a series of signal stations constructed by the British to transmit messages across the country. This included information about the arrival of merchant ships, approach of enemy vessels, and slave rebellions.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"752\" height=\"337\" src=\"https:\/\/barbados.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/gun-hill-signal-station-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1342\" srcset=\"https:\/\/barbados.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/gun-hill-signal-station-1.jpg 752w, https:\/\/barbados.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/gun-hill-signal-station-1-300x134.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p><strong>Maps<\/strong>, <strong>artifacts<\/strong>, and <strong>information boards<\/strong> educate you about life at the station throughout its history. At the base of the hill is a magnificent <strong>lion statue<\/strong> carved from coralstone.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"752\" height=\"396\" src=\"https:\/\/barbados.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/lion-carving.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1341\" srcset=\"https:\/\/barbados.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/lion-carving.jpg 752w, https:\/\/barbados.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/lion-carving-300x158.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. Morgan Lewis Windmill<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This historic windmill highlights the role that <strong>sugar<\/strong> played in the history of the island. It was sugar that brought investment from wealthy British families and lead to the plantation system that exploited Africans as enslaved labour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the 1800&#8217;s, when sugar production was at its peak, Barbados had a total of 506 windmills! Morgan Lewis is maintained by the Barbados National Trust and is a favourite stop for many <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/barbados.org\/tours\/toursisl.htm\">island tours<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bonus: fantastic views of the eastern coastline of Barbados.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"iframe-wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/120402113\" width=\"300\" height=\"150\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"clear: both;\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4. St. Nicholas Abbey<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Just up the hill from Morgan Lewis Windmill is this wonderful\u00a0<strong>Jacobean mansion<\/strong> and <strong>sugar plantation<\/strong>. There is so much to enjoy at St. Nicholas Abbey &#8211; the beautifully restored great house containing magnificent antiques; sugar grinding;\u00a0 and tropical gardens.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"752\" height=\"447\" src=\"https:\/\/barbados.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/st-nicholas-abbey-barbados.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1339\" srcset=\"https:\/\/barbados.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/st-nicholas-abbey-barbados.jpg 752w, https:\/\/barbados.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/st-nicholas-abbey-barbados-300x178.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Feeling adventurous? Explore the <strong>gullies <\/strong>with their magnificent selection of flora and fauna.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The plantation produces<strong> its own blend of rum<\/strong> &#8211; St. Nicholas Abbey Rum &#8211; and it&#8217;s well worth purchasing a bottle (or two!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">5. Sunbury Plantation House<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Step back in time at the Plantation House which dates back <strong>over 300 years<\/strong>! Experience the life of a bygone era as you explore the rooms, antiques and artifacts. The collection of carts and carriages is particularly fascinating. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Enjoy refreshing rum punches and delicious local &amp; Caribbean dishes at the restaurant.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"752\" height=\"350\" src=\"https:\/\/barbados.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sunbury-plantation-house.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1343\" srcset=\"https:\/\/barbados.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sunbury-plantation-house.jpg 752w, https:\/\/barbados.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sunbury-plantation-house-300x140.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Barbados is a country with a rich heritage and a wonderful merger of African, European and other influences. Here are our favourite heritage sites on the island.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1341,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,85,26,361],"tags":[13,211,27,362,48,199],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbados.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1338"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbados.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbados.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbados.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbados.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1338"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/barbados.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1338\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbados.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1341"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbados.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1338"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbados.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1338"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbados.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1338"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}