- Jerk at the roadside: Boston Bay is the pilgrimage, but Kingston's pits hold their own.
- Devon House ice cream: try the Devon Stout or rum and raisin.
- Pepper shrimp and festival from the downtown cookshops.
Kingston City Guide
Kingston waterfront, Jamaica. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.
Kingston is Jamaica's capital and the Caribbean's cultural capital: the city that gave the world reggae, ska, rocksteady and dancehall. It is a working city, not a resort: downtown's markets, the waterfront, and uptown's galleries and restaurants, with the Blue Mountains rising behind it.
The essentials: the Bob Marley Museum at 56 Hope Road, Devon House, the National Gallery, and the dub and sound-system nights that still run weekly. Most visitors base in New Kingston or uptown; downtown rewards the daytime.
What to do in Kingston
Music and culture
- 1
Bob Marley Museum 56 Hope Road: Marley's home and Tuff Gong studio, the essential pilgrimage. - 2Trench Town Culture Yard The government yard where Marley lived: reggae's birthplace museum.
- 3
National Gallery of Jamaica The island's art history on the downtown waterfront. - 4Dub Club The Sunday-night roots reggae session in the hills above the city.
City sights
- 1
Devon House The 1881 mansion of Jamaica's first Black millionaire; the ice cream is legendary. - 2
Port Royal The sunken pirate city at the harbour mouth: Fort Charles and the Giddy House. - 3
Emancipation Park New Kingston's green heart: the Redemption Song statues. - 4Coronation Market Downtown's great produce market, best on Saturday morning.
Kingston Hotel Guide
How to choose the best places to stay in Kingston. Verified properties below; for the full list, search live availability on Booking.com.
Mid-range
Jamaica Pegasus Hotel
New Kingston's long-standing business hotel, central and reliable.
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Mid-range
The Courtleigh Hotel and Suites
Uptown Kingston's polished option on Knutsford Boulevard.
View on Booking.comWhere to eat
Getting there and around
Norman Manley International (KIN) is 20 minutes from New Kingston. Knutsford Express coaches link Kingston with Montego Bay and Ocho Rios. Route taxis and JUTC buses cover the city; use hotel taxis at night.
Eating in Kingston
Fledge Food has a full guide to how Kingston eats: its defining dishes and how to order them, street food decoded, the markets, and the neighborhoods to eat in.