natebenma
Beach Club Dee
- Joined
- Jul 19, 2008
- Messages
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Tour of Nassau
On Wednesday, we decided to take an afternoon tour of the city of Nassau. My son Ben loves history, particularly military history, so we knew he would love touring the forts. We booked Majestic Tours 2 ½ Hour City & Country Tour.
I believe the price was $45 each for Mark and me and half-price for the boys, so $135, plus a tip to the driver.
“Explore and experience the unique history and culture of the Bahamas. Drive through the old charming romantic Nassau and environs, formerly a part of the massive British Empire, remarkable for its rich historical monuments and landmarks. Tour Fort Charlotte which was used by pirates as hiding places and to conduct naval battles. Some of the most infamous pirates to inhabit these regions were the ruthless Henry Morgan and William Teach, better known as Blackbeard”
Non-spoiler alert… we never did hear anything about the pirates!
We only stopped at a few places: Fort Montagu, The British Colonial Hotel, The Queens Staircase, Fort Charlotte/Fort Stanley. The rest of the tour consisted of drive-bys. While we did get some interesting info on the tour, a lot of it consisted of the driver reading the signs as we went by.
“There’s Such-and-Such Bank” (a lot of those)
“There’s a Subway”
It cracked Mark and me up!
There was a young couple along on the tour with us. We were probably as curious about why they were there as they were about us. Turns out they had some sort of connection to Sir Harry Oakes (I think they rented an apartment from one of his relatives) and they wanted to see some of the sites connected with this wealthy, influential man who moved to the Bahamas and was murdered under mysterious circumstances. More about that later.
Let’s get started:
First we went over the Paradise Island bridges and drove through “The Docks”. This is an area of local restaurants and markets- often recommended as a place to go for a bargain meal when you are tired of paying Atlantis prices.
We also went through the harbor and saw all of the cargo ships that carried imported and exported goods to the island.
We passed by the Nassau Yacht Club and a picturesque cemetery.
Our first stop was Fort Montagu. Before we got out of the van, Ben whispered to us that he found an iPod in the seat of the van, so we gave that to the driver. I hope it made it back to its owner.
We drove by Fort Fincastle and the Water Tower, but we didn’t stop.
We stopped at the Queen’s Staircase .
The Queens Staircase, named in honor of Queen Victoria, is a 120 foot tall set of 65 steps carved out of natural limestone walls by slaves in 1793 and 1794. It was originally built to provide British troops a protected route to Fort Fincastle, and the slaves used were local peoples from the island. Fort Fincastle was built on the highest point of the island as a lookout by the British captain Lord Dunmore in 1793. The Queens Staircase and Fort Fincastle were inspired by a desire to watch for encroaching marauders and pirates, however, none ever attacked and the fort is now a lighthouse that tourists can view.
We drove by Gregory’s Arch and The Government House.
Gregory's Arch was named after Governor John Gregory who served in the mid-1800’s. When you pass through this stone arch on Market Street, you cross the line that divides downtown Nassau from the rest of the country. The tunnel forms a picturesque entrance to the community known as Over The Hill and the old settlements of Grant's Town and Bain Town.
Government House, the official residence of the Queen's personal representative, the Governor General, has a statue of Christopher Columbus in the foreground. This imposing stucco-coral-rock building was built on a hill known as Mount Fitzwilliam and was completed in 1806.
Then we stopped at the British Colonial Hilton hotel. According to a plaque on the wall, the site is a historic landmark, but I don’t think it is part of the typical tour. Sir Harry Oakes owned the hotel at one point, so I think we stopped for the benefit of the couple.
Side note: The hotel is close to the cruise ship dock and passengers can get a day pass to beach club during a port stay in Nassau.
The statue in front of the British Colonial Hilton Nassau is Woodes Rogers (1679-1732). English Privateer, Governor of the Bahamas, Pirate Hunter, & Adventurer. Rogers’ slogan "Piracy Expelled, Commerce Restored," (Expulsis Piratis/Resitiuta Commercia) remained the national motto of the Bahamas until independence in 1973.
We went into the impressive lobby.
Then we were quickly ushered out by our tour guide when this security guard started coming down the stairs.
Continued in Next Post
On Wednesday, we decided to take an afternoon tour of the city of Nassau. My son Ben loves history, particularly military history, so we knew he would love touring the forts. We booked Majestic Tours 2 ½ Hour City & Country Tour.
I believe the price was $45 each for Mark and me and half-price for the boys, so $135, plus a tip to the driver.
“Explore and experience the unique history and culture of the Bahamas. Drive through the old charming romantic Nassau and environs, formerly a part of the massive British Empire, remarkable for its rich historical monuments and landmarks. Tour Fort Charlotte which was used by pirates as hiding places and to conduct naval battles. Some of the most infamous pirates to inhabit these regions were the ruthless Henry Morgan and William Teach, better known as Blackbeard”
Non-spoiler alert… we never did hear anything about the pirates!
We only stopped at a few places: Fort Montagu, The British Colonial Hotel, The Queens Staircase, Fort Charlotte/Fort Stanley. The rest of the tour consisted of drive-bys. While we did get some interesting info on the tour, a lot of it consisted of the driver reading the signs as we went by.
“There’s Such-and-Such Bank” (a lot of those)
“There’s a Subway”
It cracked Mark and me up!
There was a young couple along on the tour with us. We were probably as curious about why they were there as they were about us. Turns out they had some sort of connection to Sir Harry Oakes (I think they rented an apartment from one of his relatives) and they wanted to see some of the sites connected with this wealthy, influential man who moved to the Bahamas and was murdered under mysterious circumstances. More about that later.
Let’s get started:
First we went over the Paradise Island bridges and drove through “The Docks”. This is an area of local restaurants and markets- often recommended as a place to go for a bargain meal when you are tired of paying Atlantis prices.
We also went through the harbor and saw all of the cargo ships that carried imported and exported goods to the island.
We passed by the Nassau Yacht Club and a picturesque cemetery.
Our first stop was Fort Montagu. Before we got out of the van, Ben whispered to us that he found an iPod in the seat of the van, so we gave that to the driver. I hope it made it back to its owner.
We drove by Fort Fincastle and the Water Tower, but we didn’t stop.
We stopped at the Queen’s Staircase .
The Queens Staircase, named in honor of Queen Victoria, is a 120 foot tall set of 65 steps carved out of natural limestone walls by slaves in 1793 and 1794. It was originally built to provide British troops a protected route to Fort Fincastle, and the slaves used were local peoples from the island. Fort Fincastle was built on the highest point of the island as a lookout by the British captain Lord Dunmore in 1793. The Queens Staircase and Fort Fincastle were inspired by a desire to watch for encroaching marauders and pirates, however, none ever attacked and the fort is now a lighthouse that tourists can view.
We drove by Gregory’s Arch and The Government House.
Gregory's Arch was named after Governor John Gregory who served in the mid-1800’s. When you pass through this stone arch on Market Street, you cross the line that divides downtown Nassau from the rest of the country. The tunnel forms a picturesque entrance to the community known as Over The Hill and the old settlements of Grant's Town and Bain Town.
Government House, the official residence of the Queen's personal representative, the Governor General, has a statue of Christopher Columbus in the foreground. This imposing stucco-coral-rock building was built on a hill known as Mount Fitzwilliam and was completed in 1806.
Then we stopped at the British Colonial Hilton hotel. According to a plaque on the wall, the site is a historic landmark, but I don’t think it is part of the typical tour. Sir Harry Oakes owned the hotel at one point, so I think we stopped for the benefit of the couple.
Side note: The hotel is close to the cruise ship dock and passengers can get a day pass to beach club during a port stay in Nassau.
The statue in front of the British Colonial Hilton Nassau is Woodes Rogers (1679-1732). English Privateer, Governor of the Bahamas, Pirate Hunter, & Adventurer. Rogers’ slogan "Piracy Expelled, Commerce Restored," (Expulsis Piratis/Resitiuta Commercia) remained the national motto of the Bahamas until independence in 1973.
We went into the impressive lobby.
Then we were quickly ushered out by our tour guide when this security guard started coming down the stairs.
Continued in Next Post
Duplicate Post
But, the Beach Club looks soooooo pretty.
