Fodor's Expert Review Government House

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.