Bay St. Esplanade & Bridgetown Tour

This ‘runseeing’ tour of Bridgetown and nearby waterfront packs many sights and a lot of variety into a 12 km route. Bridgetown, with a population of 110,00 is the capital of Barbados and its commercial and cultural center.

Start at the corner of High St. & Broad St., location of the Lord Nelson Statue. See the Exchange Museum, Parliament buildings. Take a quick jaunt across the Chamberlain Bridge, passing through Independence Arch, to the pier and Blackwoods Screw Dock. Come back and then head north along Wharf Rd., passing lots of shops and commercial establishments, to the Pelican Craft Center. Return to the center of Bridgetown using Cheapside Rd. and Chapel St., then LEFT on Milkside Rd. to see the Nidhe Israel Synagogue, one of the oldest synagogues in the western hemisphere. Take Magazine St. and then Spry St. to then take a jaunt along St. Michael’s Row to Queen’s Park. Take a RIGHT on John Beckles Dr., heading along the river back down to the waterfront, for ~1 km.

This next section is south along the famous Bay St. Esplanade for ~1.5 km, an area with a wide sidewalk, lots of vendors, and great waterfront views, and Brownes Beach–one of the most popular on Barbados. Go as far south as Chelsea St. or Aquatic Gap. Here, there are a couple of options: ~ 1 km out and back to the Needhams Point Lighthouse, and a 1.5 km loop around the Garrison Savannah, a historic horse race course that’s a grass field and generally open to the public for walking/running. The return 2 km north along Bay St. to Bridgetown and the Chamberlain Bridge.

Options: You could cut 2 km off the section out to Pelican Craft Center, or not do the Garrison Savannah. Also there are nice options to add in Bridgetown, creating your own route along some of its historic interior side streets.