Experience the history and enticing ambiance of the Bahamas during today’s overview of the capital city of Nassau and nearby Paradise Island.

Begin with a short walk from your ship to the waiting minibuses. A ten-minute drive brings you to Fort Charlotte, largest of Nassau’s three fortresses. Spend about 20 minutes exploring the fort, built in 1789 and named for the wife of England’s King George III. Protected by a waterless moat, the fort has never had a shot fired in battle from its ramparts.

Move on to Fort Fincastle, also built during Lord Dunmore’s nine-year tenure as Governor of the Bahamas. Built atop the island’s highest point, the castle was originally accessed by the Queen’s Staircase, 65 steep steps carved by slaves directly into the limestone hill. Other points of interest included on your drive are the Straw Market, Supreme Court, Water Tower and various government buildings from colonial days.

Move from historic old Nassau to the strikingly modern resort development of Paradise Island, just across a short bridge. Once largely farmland, it was known as Hog Island when A&P grocery heir Huntington Hartford purchased the entire island in 1960 for $11 million. Today, it is lined with spectacular resort hotels and casinos, including the famed Atlantis. Spend some time at the Atlantis and also have a look at the 12th-century cloister brought over from France by William Randolph Hearst. Originally intended to be reconstructed at Heart’s San Simeon castle in California, the pieces were not numbered as they were dismantled making restoration extremely difficult—Hartford purchased the pieces from the Hearst estate and had them reassembled here, a daunting two-year task by artist Jean Castre-Manne.

If you wish to remain independently on Paradise Island, please advise your guide; the drive back to the pier area is about ten minutes.

NOTE: Various sizes of transportation will be used.

PRICE:

$ 30 02-28 participants

W1: Easy activity. Very light activity including short distances to walk; will include some steps in and out of the transportation.