Woodbrook

Woodbrook was laid out on a former sugar estate at the end of the nineteenth century and built up with the gingerbread houses that are Trinidad's characteristic domestic architecture: wooden, on low piers, with fretwork eaves, jalousie shutters and deep verandas. Many survive along the numbered streets. Ariapita Avenue running through the middle has become the city's main restaurant and bar strip, and Carnival mas camps operate from the district in the weeks before the festival.

The main sights

• The gingerbread houses - wooden houses with fretwork eaves and jalousie shutters.
• Ariapita Avenue - the main restaurant and bar strip through the district.
• The mas camps - Carnival band headquarters working in the weeks before the festival.
• The street grid - the numbered streets laid out on the old estate.

When to go

January to May is driest. The Carnival build-up from January is when the mas camps are working. Evenings are when Ariapita Avenue is busiest.

Practical notes

Many gingerbread houses have been demolished or altered and the stock is shrinking. Ariapita Avenue is loud at night and parking is difficult. The district is residential and mas camps are working spaces.

Nearby

Queen's Park Savannah is east, and the National Museum is northeast.