City Break — Trinidad & Tobago

Port of Spain is not a typical Caribbean capital. It is a working city with a cultural output vastly disproportionate to its 40,000 residents—the city proper surrounded by a metropolitan area of over half a million—and a street life that runs from the doubles vendors at 6am to the bars on Ariapita Avenue at 2am. The steelpan was invented here. Calypso music was codified here. The Carnival that is the template for every other Caribbean carnival was built here over two centuries. The food market on Charlotte Street has been operating since the 1800s.

The built environment carries the history visibly. Seven colonial mansions from 1902–1910 line the western edge of Queen’s Park Savannah, each in a different European architectural style imported by the merchant families who built them. The Red House Parliament building on St Vincent Street (1907) was the site of the Black Power uprising of 1970 and the attempted coup of 1990. Independence Square—formerly Marine Square—is where Trinidad became a republic in 1976 and where the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception has stood since 1851.

The Caroni Swamp, 9km south of the city, is the accessible wilderness day trip. The Northern Range begins effectively at the city’s northern boundary—the rainforest is less than 30 minutes from downtown by car.

Queen’s Park Savannah and the Magnificent Seven

Queen’s Park Savannah is the city’s largest open space: 260 acres of grass with a 2.2-mile perimeter circuit. The park functions simultaneously as a jogging track, an evening food market (corn soup, pholourie, coconut water from vendors stationed around the loop from around 17:00), and the primary venue for Panorama and Dimanche Gras during Carnival season. It is free, open 24 hours, and used by everyone from schoolchildren to government ministers on their evening walk.

The Magnificent Seven on the Savannah’s western edge are Port of Spain’s most photographed buildings: seven colonial mansions built between 1902 and 1910 by merchant families who hired architects from Europe and specified styles from their countries of origin. Stollmeyer’s Castle replicates Balmoral; Queen’s Royal College has a German clock tower with Westminster chimes; Archbishop’s House is French Baroque; White Hall (now the Prime Minister’s Office) is Moorish Renaissance. All seven are listed heritage buildings. Most are not open to the public but are seen from Maraval Road on the pavement.

The Botanical Gardens at the Savannah’s north end were established in 1818 and hold specimens of virtually every tree species native to Trinidad. The President’s House (1876), the official residence of the president of the republic, is accessible by guided tour on open days announced several weeks in advance.

Fort George and the historic city centre

Fort George was built in 1804 on a hilltop overlooking the Gulf of Paria and remains the best vantage point over Port of Spain. From the restored fort, the city spreads below to the waterfront, and across the Gulf the Venezuelan mountains are visible on clear mornings. The fort is reached by a steep, winding road from the St James neighbourhood—a 15-minute drive from downtown or a 45-minute walk up for the committed. Original cannons line the walls. The signal station was designed by Ashanti prince Kofi Nte in 1802. Free entry.

The historic city centre runs along Frederick Street from Independence Square to the Savannah. The National Museum and Art Gallery at 117 Frederick Street covers Trinidadian history from Amerindian settlement through the oil boom, with permanent collections on the history of Carnival, the development of the steelpan, and the natural history of the islands. Open Tuesday to Saturday. The Red House Parliament building opposite Woodford Square—a Renaissance revival structure completed in 1907—is the physical symbol of Trinidadian democratic history, having survived fires, a government minister’s attempted coup in 1990, and extensive restoration work.

Woodford Square—“the University of Woodford Square” as it was nicknamed during the 1970 Black Power movement, when daily public speeches were held here—is a park in the city centre flanked by the Red House, the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity (1823), and the public library. It is still used for public meetings and political demonstrations.

Maracas Bay and the Northern Range day trip

Port of Spain’s definitive day trip is the drive to Maracas Bay on the North Coast Road: 29km, 45 minutes, climbing through Northern Range rainforest on a road that crests at 365 metres before descending to the bay. The view from the Maracas Lookout—a lay-by on the descent to the beach—looks across the Gulf of Paria to Venezuela on one side and along the Atlantic coast to Blanchisseuse on the other.

Maracas Bay is 1.25km of sand in a sheltered cove. The beach is rated 4.3/5 on TripAdvisor with 1,827 reviews and ranked #2 of 37 things to do in Port of Spain. Richard’s Bake & Shark on the beach (4.5/5, 736 reviews) serves fried shark in fried bread with a condiment bar of 12 toppings—the North Coast institution since the 1980s. The drive, the lookout, the beach, and the bake-and-shark together constitute what every visitor from Port of Spain considers a proper day out.

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