Country Guides - St Kitts and Nevis
Contacts | Basics | Attractions | Visa | Money | Health | Overview | Airports | Photos Click images to enlargeThe capital town of St Kitts, Basseterre retains a certain charm from its elegant days during British and French colonisation, although its British heritage is more evident than its French past. Buildings such as St George's Anglican Church, originally built by the French in 1670, has suffered through fires, earthquakes and hurricanes and was rebuilt in 1869, while the Circus, styled on London's Piccadilly Circus, is a central piece of Georgian architecture that centres on the bright green Berkeley Memorial Clock. Streets lined with interesting shops and boutiques radiate out from the small roundabout. The domed Treasury Building, or customs house, on the waterfront stands testament to its heyday as a centre for sugar production, as does Independence Square, site of the original slave market that was built in 1790. It was renamed to commemorate the independence of the island nation from Great Britain in 1983.
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Brimstone Hill Fortress
The immense fortress situated atop an 800ft (244m) hill was named the 'Gibraltar of the West Indies', and the citadel, boasting 49 guns, is protected by seven-foot (2m) thick walls. What started in 1690 took almost ten decades to complete, built largely by African slaves, and the scale and grandeur of the fortress was representative of the importance of St Kitts during the 17th and 18th centuries, and of the wealth that required such defence. Today the indomitable military complex affords incredible views from its commanding position, as well as a small museum, a film recounting the history and restoration of the site, and tours of the officers' quarters, hospital and ammunition stores.
Telephone: 465 2609
Website: www.brimstonehillfortress.org
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Opening times: Open daily 9.30am to 5.30pm
Frigate Bay Peninsula
If St Kitts can be described as a tennis racquet-shaped island, the Frigate Bay Peninsula is the narrow handle, stretching down towards Nevis, which connects the racquet head to the widened end of the handle to the southeast. The peninsula is unique in that it offers beaches on both the Atlantic and Caribbean coast; South Frigate Bay on the leeward side offers calm waters ideal for swimming, snorkelling and a variety of watersports activities, while North Frigate Bay on the Atlantic coast is battered by waves perfect for bodysurfing, and is one of the most scenic beaches on the island. As a result it has also attracted most of the resort and hotel development along the coast.
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Charlestown
The unassuming capital of Nevis is one of the most charming towns in the Caribbean, with a small population and a tranquil atmosphere to match. Eighteenth and 19th century Georgian buildings remain from the colonial era, with ground floors of stone and wooden structures upstairs, a building custom that came about due to the destruction caused by the frequent earthquakes of the 1800s. Part of Charlestown's vivid history was the birth of Alexander Hamilton, the great American statesman, whose family estate home has been turned into a museum of Nevis history as well as Hamilton memorabilia. Charlestown is also the site of the Jewish cemetery, a reminder of the Sephardic Jews whose sought-after sugar processing techniques were responsible for the ultimate success and prosperity of the sugar industry on the island.
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Horatio Nelson Museum
The museum contains the largest collection of Nelson memorabilia in the Americas, and is dedicated to the life of the British Naval Admiral who was Britain's greatest naval hero who died in the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. Horatio Nelson visited Nevis in the late 18th century during his time based in nearby Antigua, and was where he courted and married Frances Nisbet in what is undoubtedly the island's most famous wedding yet. The displays offer a fascinating introduction to the life and times of Nelson, including photos of Nevis, his wedding, miniatures of his fleet, and other souvenirs of the island during his time.
Telephone: 469 0408
Website: www.nevis-nhcs.org
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Opening times: Monday to Friday 9am to 4pm, closes at 12pm on Saturdays
Pinney's Beach
One of the best beaches in the Caribbean, Pinney's Beach is the epitome of paradise with its fine white sands backed by palm trees and lapped by calm Caribbean waters. The four-mile (6km) stretch of sand is never crowded and is backed by a beautiful lagoon.
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Cities & Regions: St Kitts | Nevis
The unassuming capital of Nevis is one of the most charming towns in the Caribbean, with a small population and a tranquil atmosphere to match. Eighteenth and 19th century Georgian buildings remain from the colonial era, with ground floors of stone and wooden structures upstairs, a building custom that came about due to the destruction caused by the frequent earthquakes of the 1800s. Part of Charlestown's vivid history was the birth of Alexander Hamilton, the great American statesman, whose family estate home has been turned into a museum of Nevis history as well as Hamilton memorabilia. Charlestown is also the site of the Jewish cemetery, a reminder of the Sephardic Jews whose sought-after sugar processing techniques were responsible for the ultimate success and prosperity of the sugar industry on the island.
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Horatio Nelson Museum
The museum contains the largest collection of Nelson memorabilia in the Americas, and is dedicated to the life of the British Naval Admiral who was Britain's greatest naval hero who died in the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. Horatio Nelson visited Nevis in the late 18th century during his time based in nearby Antigua, and was where he courted and married Frances Nisbet in what is undoubtedly the island's most famous wedding yet. The displays offer a fascinating introduction to the life and times of Nelson, including photos of Nevis, his wedding, miniatures of his fleet, and other souvenirs of the island during his time.
Telephone: 469 0408
Website: www.nevis-nhcs.org
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Opening times: Monday to Friday 9am to 4pm, closes at 12pm on Saturdays
Pinney's Beach
One of the best beaches in the Caribbean, Pinney's Beach is the epitome of paradise with its fine white sands backed by palm trees and lapped by calm Caribbean waters. The four-mile (6km) stretch of sand is never crowded and is backed by a beautiful lagoon.
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Cities & Regions: St Kitts | Nevis
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