Basseterre Historic Centre

Basseterre burned almost entirely in 1867 and was rebuilt, which is why the centre is largely late nineteenth century in wooden and stone Caribbean colonial form rather than older. The Circus, a roundabout at the heart of it, holds a green cast-iron clock tower put up as a memorial to a colonial official, and Independence Square nearby was laid out as a slave market before becoming a public garden.

What you actually see

• The Circus - the roundabout with its green cast-iron clock tower.
• Independence Square - a garden laid out on what was a slave market.
• The rebuilt fabric - late nineteenth-century work after the 1867 fire.
• The Berkeley Memorial - the monument at the centre of the Circus.

When to go

December to April is the dry season. Cruise ship days fill the centre and empty it again by late afternoon. Mornings are cooler for walking.

Honest expectations

Cruise days make the centre crowded and the shops turn to duty-free jewellery. Much of the historic fabric is in mixed repair. There is little formal interpretation of Independence Square's history.

Nearby

Fairview is west, and the Peninsula is south.