Barbados

Bridgetown is the capital and largest city of Barbados, located in the parish of Saint Michael on the island’s southwest coast. It’s the political and economic hub, home to the Parliament Buildings and the historic Careenage harbor crossed by the Chamberlain Bridge. Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, reflecting the city’s colonial-era urban layout and military history. Remember it with: “Bridge to Barbados—Bridgetown.” Holetown was the first English settlement (1627) but never the capital; “St. Michael’s Bay” refers to the parish area, not a city; and “Bridgetownsville” is fictional. Bridgetown’s role has endured from the 1600s through independence (1966) and into Barbados’s status as a republic.