Bridgetown Barbados
"What is the capital of Barbados?"

The capital of Barbados is a small town known as Bridgetown Barbados and is located at the south west corner of the island.

This is in the parish of St.Michael along Carlisle Bay.

A little history of Bridgetown Barbados…

The city was originally founded by British settlers in 1628.

Upon arriving at a protected river inlet known as the Careenage, they found a small bridge across this river which they called the Indian Bridge.

It is believed that this bridge was built by The Arawaks, indigenous people to the Caribbean.

The bridge was then rebuilt by the British later in 1654 and the Careenage became a major hub for trading vessels.

The area eventually became known as Bridgetown and was the centre for the first government of the Windward Islands of the Caribbean.

The bridge has since been replaced by a more modern lift bridge and renamed The Chamberlain Bridge. Bridgetown is now the island's major commercial and governmental centre.

The Careenage is no longer used for trading vessels as the Bridgetown Shipping Port was later constructed. It is however now home to many yachts and catamarans. Bridgetown is often referred to as ’Town’ by the locals and is our only major city.

The population of Bridgetown is about 97,000 with an area of 35 km sq or 13.5 sq. miles. This is more than 1/3 of the entire island’s population!

It is therefore a very small, dense and busy city.

A Tour Of Bridgetown Barbados

The best way to explore this town is by foot and should only take a few hours.

The main street of the town is Broad Street and is the perfect place to start your tour. This is considered the main area to go shopping in Bridgetown Barbados and it should take you a few hours to explore the numerous duty free shops and craft stores along this street.

At the west end of Broad Street you will find St.Mary’s Anglican Church, the 2nd oldest church on the island, which was built in 1825.

As you travel east along this street you will come across a great store to visit on Broad Street called Cave Shepherd. This is the island’s leading duty free shopping centre. You can pretty much find anything here from souvenirs and beach wear to high end jewelry and cosmetics.

Once you have reached the east end of Broad Street you will be in the heart of the capital and should take a moment to take a few pictures of the Barbados Parliament Building. There is a beautiful clock tower attached to it.

Just to your right there are also some other tourist attractions in Bridgetown you should consider taking a look at. These include National Heroes Square, a tiny square built as a tribute to the island’s many heroes, as well as The War Memorial and Fountain Gardens.

The Chamberlain Bridge will be just behind you along Wharf Street.

Here you will find docked the many yachts and catamarans aboard which the Barbados sea turtle tours begin.

A stroll west along the beautiful boardwalk at this river inlet will lead you to the Carlisle Wharf and Barbados Heliport. The

Barbados helicopter tours begin at this heliport.

During your stroll you will notice the HMBS Wiloughby Fort, the old home of the Barbados Coast Guard Division of the Barbados Defence Force.

A trip further west from here along Princess Alice Highway will lead you past the Bridgetown Fishing Harbour and bring you to the infamous Pelican Village.

This is a shopping village which offers visitors the widest selection of Barbados handcrafts and art work. Here you can take a rest, grab some local food at the Cou-Cou village restaurant and wind down your foot tour of the city.

View a printable detailed roadmap of Bridgetown Barbados

Getting Downtown and Driving in Bridgetown Barbados

If you have hired a car you can park in one of the many public parking lots located throughout the city.

You must be wary of the numerous one-way streets throughout the city. These one-way streets can be seen on the interactive map with red arrows depicting the direction of traffic flow.

Bridgetown is also a very busy town and congested with traffic throughout the day. This leads to some drivers being aggressive so extra care while driving should be taken.

But if you are staying at a hotel that offers a free shopping shuttle bus to Bridgetown, such as Butterfly Beach Hotel, then you won’t have to worry about parking.

Local public buses and route taxis also run along the south and west coast of the island to the Bridgetown bus terminal (Fairchild Street Bus Station) and van stand (Route Taxi Stop) for a flat rate of $1.50 BDS (75 cents USD).

If you are staying along the south coast in one of the Bridgetown Barbados Hotels , you can catch a bus from one of the many bus stops along Highway 7 (also called “The South Coast Road).

And if you are coming from the west coast you can catch a bus in to the town along Highway 1 (also called “The West Coast Road”).