SIGHTSEEING IN GEORGE

TOWN George Town seems to pull off the awkward combination of modern financial center and Caribbean tourist mecca rather well. Though it boasts nearly 600 banks and thousands of registered companies, this mini Switzerland operates mostly out of sight, in the air-conditioned offices of the height-restricted four-story buildings. More apparent are the modern and historical tourist attractions that vie for the attention of the thousands of cruise-ship passengers that come ashore each day.

After picking up a walking-tour map at the Cayman Islands National Museum or the tourism information office at Cricket Square, take a leisurely stroll to see how the town’s 14,000 residents live. On many of the side streets you’ll find examples of Victorian and Spanish architecture.

History buffs will enjoy the Cayman Islands National Museum, housed in the picturesque Old Courts Building on S. Church Street, just south of the cruise-ship terminals. Built in 1830, the white clapboard structure was restored in 1990 and is now the center for research and preservation of Caymanian heritage. (The restoration won an American Express Preservation Award.) Exhibits focus on the islands’ history as well as its underwater treasures and other natural features. The museum also has a gift shop and a cafe. (Open Monday-Friday 9 am-5 pm and Saturday 10 am-2 pm with the last admission a half hour before close, closed Sunday; admission about US$5 for adults, US$2.50 for senior citizens and children ages 6 and older, free for children under age 6.)

A few blocks off the waterfront, government and commerce stand shoulder to shoulder. For example, diagonally across the road from the Legislative Assembly building on Fort Street are several fine jewelry stores. Directly opposite the Assembly building is a statue of Jim Bodden, a legislative leader from the mid 1970s to the mid 1980s. (He died in 1988.) Behind the statue is the Courts Building, designed and built to complement the Assembly building. (Check to see if court is in session—you may be able to watch wigged barristers make their case before elaborately robed judges.) East of the Assembly is the Town Hall, which has served a number of purposes over the years, from a meeting place for the legislature to a magistrate’s court, apart from its more normal function as the home of the town council. In front of it is the Clock Tower, built as a monument to King George V of England. And diagonally across from the town hall is the public library, where the shields of various English institutions of learning adorn the ceiling.

The Cayman Island Turtle Farm, started in the late 1960s by a marine biologist, is now government operated and one of the biggest tourist attractions on the island. The farm, which is in West Bay, north of George Town, has large saltwater tanks full of green sea turtles in all stages of development. Some of the descendants of the islands’ original, hard-shelled inhabitants are released into the wild seas, while others are fattened up for turtle steaks. Other kinds of turtles, such as the Ridley and hawksbill, are on display in small ponds. The farm has a restaurant and a gift shop. (Open daily 8:30 am-5 pm; admission about US$6 for adults, US$3 for children.)

 

Most of the sightseeing and attractions are in Georgetown, Grand Cayman. Here you will find Architecture ranging from West Indian colonial post modern Georgian and set on a grid of criss crossing streets and lanes. You can tour downtown Georgetown by foot. Standing as a monument to King George V in the capital is the Clock Tower. In a small plaza with a well kept garden serving as a meeting spot you will see the library, the Legislative Assembly, the Cayman Island Court house and the Town Hall. In the center of George Town is the island’s National Museum housed in the former court house.

An enlightening experience for nature lovers is a stop at the Queen Elizabeth II Botanical Park. The turtle farm is on the West End of the island, with thousands of sea turtles in one area. While on your tour you may want to visit Hell, a village named so because of its rugged coral rock formations. On several chartered vessels, you can take a cruise including submarines and glass bottom boats.

 

 

 

 

Click George Town map to enlarge

 

 

 

 

 

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