Chief among the island's attractions are its old plantation houses - places like St Nicholas Abbey and Francia , superb botanical gardens at Andromeda and the Flower Forest , and the military forts and signal stations at Gun Hill and Grenade Hall . The capital, Bridgetown , is a lively place to visit, with an excellent national museum and great nightlife in its bars and clubs. Small and largely untouristed Speightstown - once a thriving and wealthy port - is a good place to wander for a couple of hours then grab a drink on a terrace overlooking the sea. And, of course, there are the beaches, from the often crowded strips such as Accra Beach and Mullins Bay to tiny but superb patches of palm-fringed sand in the southeast.

Diving is excellent on the coral reefs around Barbados, with the good sites all off the calm west and southwest coasts, from Maycocks Bay in the north right round to Castle Bank near St Lawrence Gap.