- Conch salad at the Fish Fry: lime-cured, with peppers and onion.
- Cracked conch with peas n' rice.
- Guava duff for dessert; Sky juice to drink.
Nassau City Guide
Nassau Harbour with cruise ships and Atlantis, Bahamas. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.
Nassau is the Bahamas' capital and cruise-ship hub: Bay Street's duty-free shops, the colonial pink of Government House, and Paradise Island's Atlantis across the harbour bridge. It is busy by Out Island standards and the best base for first-timers.
The essentials: the Queen's Staircase, Fort Fincastle, the Straw Market, and a harbour boat to Paradise Island. Junkanoo, the Boxing Day and New Year's street parade, is the city's great cultural event.
What to do in Nassau
Historic Nassau
- 1
Queen's Staircase 66 limestone steps carved in the 1790s, up to Fort Fincastle. - 2
Fort Fincastle The 1793 fort shaped like a ship's bow, with harbour views. - 3
Straw Market The Bay Street craft market: straw work, wood carvings, conch jewellery. - 4
Pirates of Nassau Museum The interactive pirate history of the 1710s Republic of Pirates.
Harbour and Paradise Island
- 1
Atlantis, Paradise Island Aquaventure, the Dig aquarium, the marina village. - 2
Cable Beach The long beach west of downtown: resorts and calm water. - 3Fish Fry at Arawak Cay The local food strip: conch salad, cracked conch, Sky juice.
- 4
Ardastra Gardens The zoo and flamingo show, a family classic.
Nassau Hotel Guide
How to choose the best places to stay in Nassau. Verified properties below; for the full list, search live availability on Booking.com.
Luxury
Atlantis Paradise Island
The mega-resort across the harbour bridge: towers, water park, aquarium.
View on Booking.com
Luxury
Graycliff Hotel
The 1740 mansion hotel with the famous wine cellar and cigar company.
View on Booking.com
Where to eat
Getting there and around
Lynden Pindling International (NAS) is 25 minutes west. Jitneys (buses) run the main routes for a dollar or two; taxis are metered. Ferries cross to Paradise Island.
Eating in Nassau
Fledge Food has a full guide to how Nassau eats: its defining dishes and how to order them, street food decoded, the markets, and the neighborhoods to eat in.