The 99 Steps

The Danes laid out Charlotte Amalie on a hillside too steep for carriages in places, and their solution was step-streets: stairways of brick running straight up the slope where a road could not go. The bricks came as ballast in ships arriving from Europe to load sugar, and were used for building once unloaded, which is why they are yellow and European rather than local. The best known of these stairways is called the 99 Steps, though counts of the actual number vary and most people who bother arrive at something over a hundred. It climbs from the town to Government Hill and Blackbeard's Castle.

What you actually see

• The ballast brick - yellow European brick that arrived as ship ballast.
• The step-streets - several of them climbing the hill behind the town.
• Government Hill - Danish-era houses at the top.
• The view back down - over the roofs to the harbour.

When to go

December to April is the dry season. Go early: the steps are in full sun for most of the day and the climb is steeper than it looks. Cruise days fill the lower streets from mid-morning.

Honest expectations

It is a staircase, and takes ten minutes; the surrounding attractions are what fill out a visit and several have been intermittently closed. It is steep and hot, with no shade. The name is inaccurate. The lower town around it is heavily geared to cruise shopping.

Nearby

Blackbeard's Castle is at the top; the synagogue is a few streets west.