Must-see attractions in Kingston, Blue Mountains & the Southeast Coast

  • Interior of National Gallery.

    National Gallery of Jamaica

    Kingston

    The superlative collection of Jamaican art housed by the National Gallery is the finest on the island and should on no account be missed. As well as…

  • Blue Mountains in Jamaica

    Blue Mountain Peak

    Kingston, Blue Mountains & the Southeast Coast

    Highest of the highlights, Blue Mountain Peak reaches 2256m above sea level, and no visit to the area should neglect a predawn hike to its summit for a…

  • Bob Marley Museum, Kingston, Jamaica

    Bob Marley Museum

    Kingston

    The large, creaky, colonial-era wooden house on Hope Rd, where Bob Marley lived and recorded from 1975 until his death in 1981, is the city’s most-visited…

  • Morant Point Lighthouse

    Kingston, Blue Mountains & the Southeast Coast

    Bath is the gateway to the Morant peninsula which juts into the Caribbean Sea. The 30m-tall, red-and-white-striped lighthouse marks Morant Point, the…

  • Devon House in Kingston, Jamaica.

    Devon House

    Kingston

    This beautiful colonial house was built in 1881 by George Stiebel, the first black millionaire in Jamaica. Antique lovers will enjoy the guided tour,…

  • Life Yard

    Kingston

    An innovative art and permaculture scheme, Life Yard is regenerating an area of downtown Kingston once beset with gang problems. The program is centered…

  • Liberty Hall

    Kingston

    At the end of a tree-lined courtyard, decorated with cheerful mosaics and a mural depicting Marcus Garvey, stands Liberty Hall, the headquarters of Garvey…

  • Cannons and tower in courtyard of Fort Charles.

    Fort Charles

    Kingston, Blue Mountains & the Southeast Coast

    Jamaica’s latitude and longitude are measured from the flagstaff of Fort Charles, a weathered redoubt originally laid in 1655, and the only one of the…

  • Parade

    Kingston

    William Grant Park, more commonly known as ‘Parade,’ is the bustling heart of Downtown, and originally hosted a fortress erected in 1694 with guns…

  • Parade

    Kingston, Blue Mountains & the Southeast Coast

    Spanish Town’s finest old buildings enfold this square (more formally known as Emancipation Sq).

  • Blue Mountains-John Crow National Park

    Kingston, Blue Mountains & the Southeast Coast

    The Blue Mountains-John Crow National Park protects 782 sq km and is managed by the Jamaica Conservation & Development Trust. The park includes the forest…

  • Trench Town Culture Yard

    Kingston

    Trench Town, which began life as a much-prized housing project erected by the British in the 1930s, is widely credited as the birthplace of ska,…

  • Alligator Hole Wildlife Reserve

    Kingston, Blue Mountains & the Southeast Coast

    This lovely government-owned wildlife reserve at the end of a very rough road is notable for its family of manatees that inhabit the clear water, and its…

  • Tuff Gong Recording Studios

    Kingston

    Tuff Gong is one of the Caribbean’s largest and most influential studios. It was Bob Marley's favorite place to record and is now run by his son Ziggy…

  • Alpha Boys School

    Kingston

    Few have had an impact on modern Jamaican music like Alpha Boys School and its students. A nonprofit vocational school serving young men from the inner…

  • Mavis Bank Coffee Factory

    Kingston, Blue Mountains & the Southeast Coast

    Established in 1923 and located 1km southwest of Mavis Bank, this is the largest coffee factory in Jamaica, producing Blue Mountain coffee sold under the…

  • Coronation Market

    Kingston

    This huge cast iron–framed hall hosts the biggest market in the English-speaking Caribbean. It holds a special place in Jamaican culture as both 'stomach'…

  • Hope Gardens

    Kingston

    These 18-hectare gardens, replete with manicured grounds, exotic plants and beautiful flowers, date back to 1881, when the government established an…

  • Craighton Coffee Estate

    Kingston, Blue Mountains & the Southeast Coast

    Just north of Newcastle, you can take a one-hour tour of the attractive 200-year-old Craighton Estate Great House and coffee plantation. During the tour,…

  • Cinchona Gardens

    Kingston, Blue Mountains & the Southeast Coast

    A dilapidated old house sits atop these 2.5-hectare gardens, fronted by lawns and exquisite floral beds. It's a little rundown, but the views are fabulous…

  • Institute of Jamaica

    Kingston

    The Institute of Jamaica is the nation’s small-scale equivalent of the British Museum or Smithsonian, housed in three separate buildings – the National…

  • Beat Street

    Kingston

    Beat Street is the popular name for Orange St, running north from the corner of Parade. It's one of the great wellsprings of Jamaican music and was home…

  • Peter Tosh Museum

    Kingston

    Reggae legend Peter Tosh finally gets his due in this tiny museum. A co-founder of The Wailers (he co-wrote 'Get up, Stand up'), Tosh was an early…

  • Lime Cay

    Kingston, Blue Mountains & the Southeast Coast

    The idyllic Lime Cay is one of half a dozen or so uninhabited, white sand–rimmed coral cays about 3km offshore from Port Royal. Immortalized in the final…

  • Shaare Shalom Synagogue

    Kingston

    Jamaica’s only synagogue is an attractive white building dating from 1912. It's usually locked, though on weekdays there is often someone in the little…

  • National Heroes Park

    Kingston

    The 30-hectare, oval-shaped National Heroes Park hosts National Heroes Circle, dedicated to Jamaica’s seven national heroes. Sir Alexander Bustamante,…

  • Half Way Tree

    Kingston

    This neighborhood, road junction and major bus terminal is named for a venerable silk-cotton (kapok) tree that stood here until the 1870s. Today, the…

  • Old Iron Bridge

    Kingston, Blue Mountains & the Southeast Coast

    This narrow cast-iron bridge is the first of its kind in the Americas, and is another reminder of the deep connections between the Industrial Revolution…

  • Emancipation Park

    Kingston

    This grand open space at the center of New Kingston is a lovely place for a stroll or a spot of people-watching over a takeout patty under a shady tree…

  • Old Tavern Coffee Estate

    Kingston, Blue Mountains & the Southeast Coast

    Old Tavern Coffee Estate lies about 1.5km southwest of Section. The owners, the Tywman family, welcome visitors by prior arrangement. You're treated to a…

  • St Jago de la Vega Cathedral

    Kingston, Blue Mountains & the Southeast Coast

    Built in 1714, this is the oldest Anglican cathedral in the Caribbean, boasting an impressive beamed ceiling, and a magnificent stained-glass window…

  • House of Assembly

    Kingston, Blue Mountains & the Southeast Coast

    On the eastern side of Parade Sq is the redbrick House of Assembly, erected in 1762 and today housing the offices of the St Catherine Parish Council. It…

  • St Andrew Parish Church

    Kingston

    This brick church is more popularly known as the ‘Half Way Tree Church.’ The foundations of the existing church were laid in 1692. The exterior is austere…

  • Reggae Falls

    Kingston, Blue Mountains & the Southeast Coast

    These artificial falls, created by the Hillside Dam, make an attractive swimming hole. Drive from Morant Bay through Seafort to get here, then walk along…

  • Trinity Cathedral

    Kingston

    Open only for services, this cathedral, built in 1908, is the seat of the Roman Catholic church in Jamaica. It is noted for having been the site of Norman…

  • Negro Aroused Statue

    Kingston

    This controversial bronze statue depicting a crouched black man breaking free from bondage is the work of Jamaica’s foremost sculptor, the late Edna…

  • National Archives

    Kingston, Blue Mountains & the Southeast Coast

    The building behind the Rodney Memorial is the National Archives, with national documents dating back centuries, including the proclamation of the…

  • National Library

    Kingston

    Adjacent to the Institute of Jamaica, the National Library incorporates the Caribbean’s largest repository of books, maps, charts and archival documents…

  • Headquarters House

    Kingston

    The brick-and-timber house was originally known as Hibbert House, named after Thomas Hibbert, reportedly one of four members of the House of Assembly who…

  • Gordon House

    Kingston

    Jamaica’s parliament meets at Gordon House, immediately north of Headquarters House. The rather plain brick-and-concrete building was constructed in 1960…