Bridgetown: UNESCO Garrison, Crop Over Carnival, Flying Fish Cuisine, and Mount Gay Rum
Bridgetown, the capital of Barbados and the most culturally sophisticated small island capital in the Eastern Caribbean, combines the UNESCO-listed colonial garrison, the internationally attended Crop Over carnival, the flying fish national cuisine, and the world's oldest rum brand in a 430-square-kilometer island of extraordinary cultural density.
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Garrison Historic Area: The UNESCO Savannah
The Garrison Historic Area of Bridgetown, inscribed alongside the Historic Bridgetown on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2011, is the finest surviving example of British colonial military infrastructure in the Caribbean, with the Main Guard, the St. Ann Fort, the barracks buildings, and the Garrison Savannah racecourse creating a complete 17th and 18th century military settlement. The Savannah horse racing on the perimeter of the colonial garrison is one of the most atmospheric sporting venues in the Caribbean.
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Crop Over: The Bajan Carnival
Crop Over, the Barbadian carnival celebrating the end of the sugar cane harvest, transformed from a workers celebration into the most elaborate and most internationally attended carnival in the Eastern Caribbean, with the Kadooment Day finale parade of costumed revelers in elaborate feathered and beaded costumes following the Crop Over queen contestants through the Bridgetown streets in a festival that runs from June to the first Monday in August.
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Rihanna and the Bajan Music Tradition
Rihanna, born Robyn Fenty in Saint Michael Barbados in 1988 and educated in Bridgetown, is the most internationally successful Barbadian export and the definitive proof that the small island musical tradition that produced the soca music of Crop Over can connect to the global pop music market. The cultural diplomacy capital of Rihanna has been leveraged by the Barbadian government through her appointment as Ambassador of the National Cultural and Environment Ambassador.
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Flying Fish: The National Symbol and Dish
The flying fish, the silver-winged fish that is the national symbol and the most culturally significant food of Barbados, is served fried and seasoned with the bajan seasoning of chives, thyme, and scotch bonnet in the cutters sandwich, with cou-cou the cornmeal and okra polenta, and in the fish cakes that are the defining Barbadian street food. The Bridgetown fish market and the waterfront fish restaurants are the primary access points for the flying fish cuisine.
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Carlisle Bay: The Underwater Shipwreck Trail
Carlisle Bay south of Bridgetown, the calm sheltered bay with clear water and the historic collection of deliberately sunk ships creating the finest wreck diving trail in the Caribbean, accessible to both divers and snorkelers, is the most distinctive natural experience close to the Barbados capital. The wrecks include the Stavronikita, a 111-meter Greek freighter, and the Berwyn, a French tugboat, lying in 20 to 40 meters of water.
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Mount Gay Rum: The World's Oldest Rum Brand
Mount Gay Rum, produced in Barbados since at least 1703 and bearing the distinction of the oldest rum brand in continuous production in the world, is the definitive product of the Barbadian sugar economy and the foundation of the Barbados rum culture that has produced six major rum distilleries on an island of 430 square kilometers. The Mount Gay visitor center in Bridgetown offers the distillery tour and tasting that connects the visitor to the island's primary cultural export.