Trinidad / Special Interests / Historical Sites

Unlike several beach-orientated destinations in the region, you’re never short of something to do in Trinidad. Boredom is just not part of the lexicon. Port of Spain is an urgent, rapidly-changing urban environment which it is still possible to negotiate on foot once you’ve come to terms with the speeding traffic round the Savannah. At least it’s one-way.

Queen’s Park Savannah, Port of Spain - Still the green heart of the city, bordered to the south by the stunning Academy for the Performing Arts building opened by the Queen, which owes much to the architecture of the Sydney Opera House; its stark modernism contrasts markedly with the ornate, crenellated embellishments on some of the more classical structures of the quasi “Magnificent Seven” strung along the western edge. The National Museum & Art Gallery is close by too, on the corner of Keate and Frederick streets, with sections on natural history and carnival, and a wonderful tribute to Trinidad’s celebrated artists both old and new. To the north is the President’s House.

Woodford Square and Downtown, Port of Spain - The tree-shrouded public square is the speaker’s corner of the capital, where sundry individuals come to voice their opinions on every subject under the sun, specifically those of a political bent. Gatherings can be highly entertaining, inflammatory and informative, but often held at ungodly hours in the morning for some reason. The seat of parliament to the north side, the Red House, is a replacement for the original destroyed in a riot in 1903, while another impressive building adorns the opposite flank, the Gothic inspired Holy Trinity Cathedral, built in 1818 under Governor Woodford’s jurisdiction. Frederick Street is the main shopping artery, leading south into Independence Square. The Brian Lara Promenade, then a short stroll westwards, will bring you to the Breakfast Shed, a collection of very reasonably-priced local eating houses, and the impressive new Waterfront Walkway.
 
Fort George - A short winding drive uphill from the western main road in St James, Port of Spain, brings you to stone ramparts constructed by the British in the Napoleonic wars in 1804 at an 1,100 ft elevation. The cannons never saw action against the French and the legacy now is a small museum and a great breeze-blown picnicking area with tremendous panoramic views west over the Boca Grande straits towards Venezuela and south beyond the city and to Caroni down the west coast.

Mount St Benedict - Another glorious lookout spot and an hour’s drive east from the capital, then north above Tunapuna into the mountain foothills. The oldest Benedictine monastery in the Caribbean, it was built in 1912 and still houses a dozen monks who tend the estate’s citrus and coffee trees, with another 600 acres of forest trails and secondary pinewoods to explore. There is an art gallery, studio and gift shop on site, with the Pax Guest House adjacent –- owned by Gerard Ramsawak, famed for its afternoon teas, blissful atmosphere and bird-watching.

Lopinot Complex - A strangely atmospheric former cocoa estate tucked beneath the mountains in a beautiful manicured hamlet, five miles off the Eastern Main Road north of Arouca. With a small restored plantation house, drying shed and slave quarters converted into a museum, it’s also a great picnic, river bathing and bird-watching location beneath giant samaan trees. Noted too as “the home of parang”, the Christmas festival of strolling players and merriment.