Sights—British history, shops and restaurants at the Royal Navy Dockyard; great views of Hamilton Harbour from Fort Hamilton; stalactites and stalagmites at the Crystal and Fantasea caves; extensive views of Bermuda from Fort Scaur and Gibb's Hill Lighthouse.
Museums—18th- and 19th-century Bermudian and European paintings at the Bermuda National Gallery; model ships at the Bermuda Historical Society Museum; scuba-diving exhibits at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute; unusual architecture at Verdmont Museum; U.S. Civil War history at the Bermuda National Trust Museum.
Memorable Meals—Local cuisine at Black Horse Tavern Bar and Restaurant; excellent fish or roast beef at the Carriage House; terrific fine dining at Ascots.
Late Night—A rum and ginger-beer at the Swizzle Inn; a Friday jazz night from the Bermuda Musical and Dramatic Society; dress up for Splash on Bermudiana Road; live reggae and rock bands at Ozone.
Walks—Take a cliff walk and watch out for longtail birds; follow an old railway line through tunnels and woodlands on the Bermuda Railway Trail; explore a cherry-tree jungle at Blue Hole Park; get lost among the colorful flowers of the Bermuda Botanical Gardens; tour the historic streets of St. George.
Especially for Kids—Spot fish, turtles and moray eels at the Bermuda Aquarium; dolphin interactions and educational programs at Dolphin Quest Lagoon at the Maritime Museum.
This isolated bit of paradise is in the Atlantic, and it's less than a two-hour flight southeast of New York. (The closest land is North Carolina, 650 mi/1,050 km west.) The country is actually made up of 181 small islands—the largest of which are connected by bridges and causeways, creating a landmass shaped roughly like a 21-mi-/34-km-long fishhook that is no wider than 2 mi/3 km.
The first known European to sight the islands was Spaniard Juan de Bermudez (from whom Bermuda takes its name) in 1503. Spain left the islands alone to their population of cahows and other birds, and they remained unsettled for another century. Bermuda became an important landmark and a hazard for ships crossing the Atlantic in the 1500s: Storms often swept ships onto the reefs that surround the islands.
One such wreck led to the colonization of Bermuda. In 1609, the Sea Venture, an English ship loaded with colonists en route to Jamestown, Virginia, struck one of the reefs. The colonists found Bermuda a good place to be marooned, especially because of the wild hog population, which provided a steady supply of meat. The castaways built two new ships and sailed onward the next year, but their brief stay encouraged settlement on the islands. By 1612, there was a permanent British settlement—St. George's. Originally ruled by the Virginia Company, it became a British crown colony in 1684 and remains as such today. The population is a diverse mix, including those whose heritage can be traced to Africa, the U.K., the Azores, the West Indies and several other lands.
Because it lacked the water and soil to be a major agricultural producer, Bermuda's fortunes were tied to trade. Much of the trade was with the U.S., and during the Civil War, Bermuda grew rich by trading English arms for Confederate cotton. When the war ended in 1865, Bermuda fell on harder times. But during the 20th century, the islands began to develop one of the businesses that it continues to rely on: tourism. During the 1960s, offshore banking, financial services and insurance also became important to the islands. Now Bermuda is a leading center for reinsurance and insurance.
Under the Westminster system of government, Bermuda was governed by the United Bermuda Party (UBP) from the early 1960s to the late 1990s. During that period, Pam Gordon became Bermuda's first female premier. In 1998, the Progressive Labour Party (PLP)—also led by a woman, Jennifer Smith—swept into power after a general election. The PLP has been in power ever since.
Bermuda's foremost attractions are beaches, golf, tennis, snorkeling, deep-sea fishing, scuba diving, nature preserves, cricket, sailing, shopping and relaxation.
A clean, fairly formal, semitropical destination with beautiful beaches, trees and flowers, Bermuda can be a relaxing destination, albeit an expensive one.
The title of John Lennon's
Double Fantasy album was inspired by the name of a flower the ex-Beatle saw in the Bermuda Botanical Gardens. Lennon wrote some of the songs for the album while staying in Bermuda.
Though only 21 mi/34 km long, Bermuda has more than 125 churches.
The first game of tennis in the Western Hemisphere was played in Bermuda by Sir Brownlow Gray's family in 1873. The next year, their American houseguest, Mary Outerbridge, introduced the sport to the U.S. on Staten Island.
Debate still rages over whether there is a mysterious, fatal force operating in the Bermuda Triangle, an area whose three corners are marked by Bermuda, Florida and Puerto Rico. An astonishing number of planes and ships have mysteriously disappeared there, and theories abound about who or what is responsible.
Rainwater is the main source of water on Bermuda: There are no rivers or other major sources of freshwater. The rain is funneled from the roofs of buildings into underground tanks. (In most hotels, the water is purified.) Islanders take their roof collection systems seriously: When a new roof is added to a house, it's christened with a splash of Bermuda black rum.
Animals in Bermuda perform a variety of entertaining courtship rituals. In February, longtail tropic seabirds execute swooping aerial ballets along the crenulated coastline. From June to September, mating fire worms glow with a green light as they dart toward each other in Bermuda's shallow bays—the performance is at its best an hour after sunset on the third day after the full moon. And, most of the year, Bermuda's night air is filled with the whistling chorus of tiny singing tree frogs, especially after a rain shower.
If you drive into Hamilton on weekday mornings, you'll see retired bus driver and mechanic Johnny Barnes. He has been waving to locals and visitors from the Crow Lane roundabout since 1983. There is a bronze statue of him by East Broadway.
You'll find the world's smallest drawbridge between Somerset and Southampton. It has a section—only one plank wide—that opens to allow for tall masts.
Every year on Boxing Day (26 December), the Gombey dancers parade around the islands, singing and dancing in elaborate costumes and masks. Gombey is the word for rhythm in Bantu and is also the name of a skin-covered drum originally developed in Africa and brought to Bermuda by slaves.
Outdoor advertising, neon signs and street vendors are banned in Bermuda.
The short pants that evolved into Bermuda shorts were introduced by the British military at the turn of the 20th century.
At Easter time, fragrant, white Easter lilies fill gardens and some fields in Bermuda. Every year, a large bouquet of blossoms is sent to Queen Elizabeth II of England.
