Hamilton

Bermuda's capital since 1815 is a working town of pastel facades: Front Street runs its verandahed commercial row along the harbour where ferries fan out to the parishes and visiting yachts moor stern-to, while the grid behind holds the Sessions House's Italianate towers, the cathedral, and lanes of shops trading on the island's particular polish. Above it all, Fort Hamilton's Victorian ramparts enclose a moat that gardeners long ago converted to a subtropical ravine walk - the town's quietest surprise. Hamilton is small enough to know in an afternoon and central enough that every island day starts or ends through it.

What you actually see

• Front Street - the pastel, verandahed harbour row.
• Fort Hamilton's moat garden - ferns and rubber trees in the Victorian ditch.
• The Sessions House - the terracotta Italianate parliament.
• The harbour ferries - the pink boats fanning out across the Great Sound.

When to go

April to October for harbour life at its fullest; the town works year round. Wednesday evenings in season bring Front Street's street-festival nights. Cruise calls concentrate midday crowds - mornings are the locals' town.

Honest expectations

Hamilton is a capital of nine thousand people - expect a handsome small town, not a metropolis, and prices that reflect Bermuda's cost of everything. Shops keep conservative hours; Sundays are quiet. The fort's garden closes with the gates - check times rather than assume.

Nearby

The Botanical Gardens at Paget, the railway trail and every parish by ferry or bus.