1. The CraneHistory surrounds you at the Crane, likely the oldest continuously operated hotel in the Caribbean, opened in 1887. From the Pavilion Room, a Roaring Twenties dance hall overlooking the Atlantic, admire a whitewood tree bent 45 degrees by centuries of southeastern breezes. Lounge by the 1970s-era Historic Pool, one of the world's most photographed (by Vogue among many others), no doubt due to its Grecian Doric columns and dramatic cliffside location. And be sure to stay in room 11, within the original 18-room hotel, whose wraparound balcony delivers unbeatable views of pink-hued Crane Beach, among the West Indies' finest.
St. Philip, 246-423-6220, thecrane.com
The Crane
2. The GarrisonEstablished in 1789, the garrison was a nerve centre for the protection of British Crown interests for 116 years. In 2011, the same year it was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List, a network of drainage and defensive tunnels was discovered beneath the 150-acre property, and now you can descend narrow stairs to a section of two-metre-high hand-cut coral tunnelling.
St. Michael, 
3. Harrison's CaveFreshwater streams tunnel to the ocean through 2.3 ki­lometres of crystallized limestone caves ranging from wiggle-only openings to the cathedral-sized Great Hall. Consider a hat for your electric tram tour as calcium-rich rain drips from the ceiling; this rainfall is forming delicate stalactite-stalagmite combinations that will have grown exactly two centimetres within the next 120 years.
4. Nidhe Israel SynagogueFleeing anti-semitism, Jews from Brazil resettled here, and, by 1654, had finished building this National Trust property. (The Star of David stained-glass windows were added in 2005.) Next door, in the western hemisphere's oldest Jewish cemetery, run your fingers over weathered Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) headstone inscriptions, or visit the museum of Jewish history featuring interactive exhibits.
Synagogue Lane, Bridgetown,  
5. Waterfront Café and Pelican VillageTry the Bajan fish cake (salt cod) from Sue Walcott's café by the careenage while watching sport-fishing charter boats manoeuvre through the commercial wharf, the island's main port for centuries. A few streets over, at the Pelican Craft Center, browse art, sculpture and handicrafts, including work by Ontario College of Art-trained Andrea Wells.
The Careenage, Bridgetown, 
The Crane

3 spots that pack a rum punch

Peek into Mount Gay Distillery's bottling plant in Bridgetown on a guided tour of the world's first commercial rum distillery, which has been turning molasses ("black gold") into barrel-aged blended rums since 1703.
Brandons, St. Michael, 
Pair the flying fish sandwich at Cutters with its award-winning punch: Coxspur Old Gold Rhum, Bajan limes, bitters and locally produced sugar with notes of molasses.
Crane Beach, St. Philip, 
At St. Nicholas Abbey, sugar-cane juice is the 356-year-old plantation's secret to smooth aged rum, best served neat.
Cherry Tree Hill, St. Peter,