Bahamas/New Providence: Nassau Old Town
Nassau is the capital of the Bahamas with the population of 275,000 people, which is 75% of the entire country’s! Nassau is a major cruise ship port and a total tourist zoo. Cruiseship after cruiseship unloads tourists at the Nassau waterfront to walk around the old town, buy some overpriced Bahamian souvenirs, visit a pirate museum, or head the opposite way and go to the Paradise Island (entertainment park and hotel on an island just in front of Nassau). Nassau was founded by British settlers in 1670 and really grew when British loyalists escaped the USA and founded plantations here. The historic part of Nassau – downtown – is relatively small and compact, all centered around the Bay Street. There are some century-old colorful pink buildings, nice old churches, Government House, small Fort Fincastle from 1793 on high grounds with a panoramic view of the city, and so on. It’s worth a quick exploration, but the amount of traffic, tourists, touts, and general mess kind of makes you wanna leave as soon as possible.
