{"id":1360,"date":"2017-10-30T12:56:56","date_gmt":"2017-10-30T16:56:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/barbados.org\/blog\/?p=1360"},"modified":"2024-02-20T14:40:06","modified_gmt":"2024-02-20T18:40:06","slug":"barbados-embraces-heritage-and-cultural-travel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/barbados.org\/blog\/barbados-embraces-heritage-and-cultural-travel\/","title":{"rendered":"Barbados Embraces Heritage and Cultural Travel"},"content":{"rendered":"

You’re in for a treat as several splendid historic<\/strong> and cultural<\/strong> sites in Barbados will soon be enhanced, thanks to a substantial loan from a leading lending agency.<\/p>\n

Get ready to explore these 3 major\u00a0heritage tourism assets<\/strong>, which will be created or improved with part of a US$20 million loan from the\u00a0Inter-American Development Bank.<\/p>\n

Barbados is already a wonderful heritage destination<\/strong>, with several excellent museums, beautifully restored plantation houses, a series of lighthouses and signal stations, and a capital city that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. These improvements will be a further delight<\/strong> to those who love learning about the history of our Caribbean island and stepping back in time to a bygone era.<\/p>\n

1. Visitor Centre in Bridgetown\u2019s Old Town Hall Building<\/h1>\n

The Old Town Hall building lies in the centre of our capital city Bridgetown, a bustling city that wonderfully blends historic buildings with modern amenities and commercial activity. The building dates back to\u00a01730<\/strong> and played a vital role in early governance of the island as a British colony. Careful refurbishment in\u00a02003 restored this beautiful building to its former glory, maintaining much of its architectural heritage.<\/p>\n

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Old Town Hall in Bridgetown, Barbados<\/p><\/div>\n

When you visit Bridgetown<\/a> take a stroll down Broad Street to Jubilee Gardens, a lovely open square with benches and tropical trees. From the gardens you’ll have a splendid view of the Old Town Hall and can imagine the political and governance activity that took place here centuries ago.<\/p>\n

How it will be improved:<\/strong>\u00a0a new\u00a0Visitor Centre will be created in the Old Town Hall Building, providing guests with fascinating information on the historical and architectural features of this location.<\/span><\/p>\n

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2. Urban Tourist Route Through Historic Bridgetown<\/h1>\n

Bridgetown<\/strong> is our capital city and historic commercial hub of the island. Along with its nearby Garrison, it has won designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

We highly recommend visiting Bridgetown to explore the intriguing sites<\/strong>, visit a pirate’s tavern<\/strong>, relax in small parks<\/strong>, shop<\/strong> for duty-free goods and authentic local craft, and savour delicious local dishes<\/strong> at one of the many restaurants. It’s a relatively small city and so can be easily explored in a half-day. Be sure to visit the waterfront<\/strong> and stroll the boardwalk<\/strong> – you might even spot a turtle<\/strong>!<\/p>\n

A walk through Bridgetown takes you back to a time when Barbados was a vital colony in the British Empire<\/strong>. You’ll see the British influence reflected in the street and place names such as Prince William Henry Street, Victoria Street, and Queen’s Park. There is even a statue of Lord Horatio Nelson<\/a> which predates that in Trafalgar Square, London by 30 years! The Barbados Parliament is the 3rd oldest in the Commonwealth and the coral stone buildings are quite magnificent.<\/p>\n

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Parliament Buildings in Bridgetown<\/p><\/div>\n

Along with that history is the darker reality of the plantation slavery system<\/strong>, which brought many of the ancestors of modern Barbadians to our shores. It was often in Bridgetown that they arrived to begin a terrible life of servitude.<\/p>\n

\"The

The Cage<\/p><\/div>\n

Not to be forgotten is the influence of the\u00a0Amerindians<\/strong>, the earliest known inhabitants of Barbados. Bridgetown was originally known as Indian Town<\/strong> and the name Bridgetown is derived from an old wooden bridge named “Indian Bridge” which spanned the\u00a0Careenage River in the city.<\/p>\n

How to make it better:\u00a0<\/strong>the tourist route through the city will be enhanced, so that visitors can enjoy a more engaging, safer, and complete exploration of this magnificent treasure that blends the heritage of many peoples and reflects the ambition and fortitude of them all.<\/span><\/p>\n

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3. National Museum and Oistins Waterfront<\/h1>\n

The Barbados Museum<\/strong> is also located within the World Heritage Site, at the historic Garrison area which is about 3 minutes drive or 20 minutes walk from Bridgetown. The museum is housed in historic buildings that were used as the military prison in the 1800’s.<\/p>\n

Step inside and traverse the many exhibits<\/strong> that depict the riveting history<\/strong> of the island. There are several permanent galleries including the African Gallery<\/strong> and Military Gallery<\/strong>, along with temporary galleries depicting a particular theme of interest. The Children’s Gallery<\/strong> is a big hit with younger members of the family as they experience childhood life in Barbados.<\/p>\n

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Barbados Museum<\/p><\/div>\n

Oistins<\/strong> is a quaint little town on the southern coast of Barbados. It’s best known and loved for the famous Oistins Fish Fry<\/strong><\/a>, where visitors and local mingle among food stalls and sit on picnic benches to enjoy freshly grilled or fried fish along with delicious sides like macaroni pie and coleslaw.<\/p>\n

There is a vibrant fishing community here, and it’s fun to watch the fishermen<\/strong> bring in the catch of the day. Stroll onto the jetty<\/strong> to see numerous turtles<\/strong> who have figured out that where there is a fish market there are fish scraps, which to them is an easy meal.<\/p>\n

\"Oistins

Oistins Bay<\/p><\/div>\n

In addition to this fishing heritage<\/strong>, Oistins also played a historic role in the political history of the island. Here the Charter of Barbados<\/strong> (also known as the Treaty of Oistins) was signed at a tavern in\u00a01652. This treaty ended the stand-off between Cromwell’s imperial forces and local Royalist supporters.<\/p>\n

The plan:<\/strong> as part of this project improvements will be made to both the Museum and the Oistins Waterfront. More visitors will benefit from exploring our captivating heritage and experiencing authentic island life.<\/span><\/p>\n

Where To Stay For a Heritage Vacation<\/h1>\n

If you love exploring the history of your travel destination, we recommend that when you visit Barbados you stay in either a plantation inn, a hotel with historic character, or one of the hotels within the World Heritage Site – we’ve compiled a list of our favourites in these 3 categories:<\/p>\n

\n
Heritage Areas<\/div>\"HeritageHotels for every budget and style right by the UNESCO sites<\/a><\/div>
Heritage Hotels<\/div>\"HeritageHotels blending heritage character with modern sophistication<\/a><\/div>
Plantation Hotels<\/div>\"PlantationHotels steeped in antique elegance yet tastefully modernized<\/a><\/div><\/p>\n
 <\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You’re in for a treat as several splendid historic and cultural sites in Barbados will soon be enhanced, thanks to a substantial loan from a leading lending agency.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1362,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[85,26,361,352],"tags":[13,211,27,48],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbados.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1360"}],"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=1360"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/barbados.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1360\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbados.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1362"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbados.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1360"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbados.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1360"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbados.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1360"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}