Bridgetown
Bridgetown is the capital and largest city of Barbados.
Formerly The Town of Saint Michael, the Greater Bridgetown area is located within the parish of Saint Michael. Bridgetown is sometimes locally referred to as "The City", but the most common reference is simply "Town". As of 2014, its metropolitan population stands at roughly 110,000.
Getting to Bridgetown
Barbados Airport (BGI IATA) is usually shown on departure boards as Bridgetown but it's 8 miles west in Southern Barbados. Most tourists are bussed straight to their beach hotels and don't arrive via the city. Cruise ships dock at Bridgetown Harbour a mile north of the centre. A swarm of touts, taxis and minibuses await them but the harbour is walking distance to the centre.
Worth seeing
- 01St Michael's Cathedral
- 02St Mary's Church
Anglican church built in 1827 but there's been a church on this site since 1630.
- 03Nidhe Israel Synagogue
This was built in 1654, so it's one of the oldest in the Americas.
- 04Ilaro Court
The official residence of the Barbados prime minister is occasionally open as an events venue.
Things to do
- 01Mount Gay Rum
The sugarcane is nowadays imported, but the rest of the process of making rum remains local.
- 02Kensington Oval
West Indies play as a combined team for international games.
Where to eat
Mustors is on McGregor St, open 10:30AM-3:30PM. Shanti's Rum & Roti is at
- 01Tudor St
Chefette is fast food on Harbour Rd near the bus station, open daily 11AM-10PM.
- 02Beckles Rd
Getting around Bridgetown the local way
- Get inA swarm of touts, taxis and minibuses await them but the harbour is walking distance to the centre.
From Wikivoyage: Bridgetown, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.
Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Virtual-Pano (CC BY-SA 4.0), Wikimedia Commons.