11 Best Sights in New Providence and Paradise Islands, Bahamas

The former Buena Vista Estate, which featured in the James Bond film Casino Royale, has been painstakingly transformed and returned to its glory days, emerging as the new home of John Watling's Distillery. Parts of the estate date back to 1789, and the line of John Watling's artisanal rums, gins, vodkas, and liquors are handmade, hand bottled, and hand labeled just as they would have been in that era. Take a self-guided tour through the grounds and working estate to learn the fascinating history of the home, and then walk out back to watch the rum production line from an overhead mezzanine. Sit in The Red Tavern with an internationally acclaimed Rum Dum or just a great mojito, and pick up a unique Bahamian souvenir in the on-site retail store. 

Hundreds of millions of dollars have been pumped into expanding and overhauling the cruise port, and it shows. The space that cruise passengers encounter after they tumble off their ships is now a destination in and of itself, complete with exciting local restaurants, a gallery and wine bar, a gelato shop, a Junkanoo museum, an amphitheater with live entertainment, and myriad shops and shacks selling unique Bahamian-made goods. Up to a half-dozen gigantic cruise ships, including the largest in the world, call on Nassau Cruise Port at any one time, and megayachts too large to pull up to any of the island's marinas have a special pier all to themselves. While access to the ship piers is restricted, the new port has been designed to allow open access to all the retail and dining areas.

A delightful 18th-century landmark—a pink two-story house named aptly for its overhanging balcony—this is the oldest wooden residential structure in Nassau and its furnishings and design recapture the elegance of a bygone era. A mahogany staircase, believed to have been salvaged from a ship during the 19th century, is an interior highlight. A guided tour through this fascinating building is an hour well spent.

The Central Bank of The Bahamas was established in 1973 to oversee monetary policy in a newly independent Bahamas. Art lovers will delight to see that it has also evolved to protect and promote local art, with an extensive collection of more than 500 pieces of original Bahamian art. The bank's foyer is an impressive and carefully curated gallery with ever-changing exhibits featuring emerging and established artists.

It's worth the short walk off the main thoroughfare to see the stained-glass windows of this cathedral. It was built in 1841 but only became a cathedral in 1861, when it was a key element in Nassau being designated a city. The white pillars of the church's spacious, airy interior support ceilings beamed with dark wood handcrafted by ship builders. The Crucifixion depicted in the east window's center panel is flanked by depictions of the Empty Tomb and the Ascension. Be sure to spend a few minutes in the small, flower-filled Garden of Remembrance, where stone plaques adorn the walls. Sunday Mass is held at 7:30 am, 9:30 am, 11:30 am, and 6 pm. Drop by the cathedral on Christmas Eve or New Year's Eve to see the glorious church at night and hear the music and choir. Call ahead to find out the time of the service.

The official residence of The Bahamas governor-general, the personal representative of England's monarch since 1801, this imposing pink-and-white building on Duke Street is an excellent example of the mingling of Bahamian-British and American colonial architecture. Its graceful columns and broad circular drive recall the styles of Virginia or the Carolinas. But its conch-shell-pink color, distinctive white quoins (cross-laid cornerstones), and louvered wooden shutters (to keep out the tropical sun) are typically Bahamian. The mansion was once home to the former King Edward, who became the Duke of Windsor and Governor of The Bahamas from 1940 to 1945 after he abdicated the throne to marry twice-divorced American Wallis Simpson. Government House recently underwent a restoration project said to cost in excess of $17 million. The storied Christopher Columbus statue that once graced the steps leading to the entrance has been removed, though the base bearing his name remains.

The octagonal building near Parliament Square was the Nassau Gaol (the old British spelling for jail), circa 1797. You're welcome to pop in and browse. The small prison cells are now lined with books. The museum has an interesting collection of historic prints and old colonial documents.

This open space at the western end of Bay Street overlooks busy Nassau Harbour and is the spot to catch local festivals and events, live music, and Bahamian crafts shows. With 24-hour security, public restrooms, an interactive water feature that delights kids of all ages, and a host of small restaurants and bars nearby, this square pays tribute to an enslaved man who fought for his freedom.

Walk the road beneath the Paradise Island bridges to Potter's Cay to watch sloops bringing in and selling loads of fish and conch. Along the road to the cay are dozens of stands where you can watch the conch being extracted from its glistening pink shell, straight from the sea. If you don't have the know-how to handle the tasty conch's preparation—getting the diffident creature out of its shell requires boring a hole at the right spot to sever the muscle that keeps it entrenched—you can enjoy a conch salad on the spot, as fresh as it comes, and take notes for future attempts. Empty shells are sold as souvenirs. Many locals and hotel chefs come here to purchase the fresh catches; you can also find vegetables, herbs, and such condiments as fiery Bahamian peppers preserved in lime juice, as well as locally grown pineapples, papayas, and bananas. Join in on a raucous game of dominoes outside many of the stalls. Some stalls are closed on Sunday. There's also a police station and dockmaster's office, where you can book an inexpensive trip on a mail boat headed to The Family Islands. Be aware that these boats are built for cargo, not passenger comfort, and it's a rough ride even on calm seas.

This shady square connects Bay Street to Prince George Wharf and the Nassau Cruise Port. As you enter off Bay Street, note the statue of Sir Milo Butler, the first post-independence (and first native Bahamian) governor-general. The trees on either side of the bust are lignum vitae—the country's national tree. The bright yellow flowers that line the sides of the square are the country's national flower, the yellow elder. Horse-drawn surreys wait for passengers to the east of the square (expect to pay about $30 for a half-hour ride through Nassau's streets). Often overlooked is the nearby Randolph W. Johnston bronze statue Tribute to Bahamian Women, situated at the entrance to the cruise port. 

Fountains and statues of luminaries and legends (Napoléon and Josephine, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, David Livingstone, Hercules, and Mephistopheles) adorn Versailles Gardens, the terraced lawn at The Ocean Club, formerly the private hideaway of A&P supermarket heir Huntington Hartford. At the top of the gardens stand the Cloisters, the remains of a stone monastery built by Augustinian monks in France in the 13th century. They were imported to the United States in the 1920s by newspaper baron William Randolph Hearst. (The cloister is one of four to have ever been removed from French soil.) Forty years later, Hartford bought the Cloisters and had them rebuilt on their present commanding site. At the center is a graceful, contemporary white marble statue called Silence, by Scottish sculptor William Reid Dick. Nearly every day, tourists take or renew wedding vows under the delicately wrought gazebo overlooking Nassau Harbour. The garden is owned by The Ocean Club Four Seasons Resort.