HamiltonBermuda's capital city, situated at the end of Hamilton Harbour on the inner curve of the ‘fish hook’ is an interesting place to explore. Here, between Parliament Street and Court Street, is The Cabinet Building where the Senate – the Upper House of Bermuda’s Parliament – meets. The Lower Chamber of Parliament is housed in the Sessions House (House of Assembly), also located between Parliament and Court Streets, is open to the public. Front Street is Hamilton’s main street which runs west to east along the water’s edge from Albuoy’s
Point, site of the Ferry terminal and the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club, to King Street in the east. Located on Queen Street in Hamilton is Perot’s Post Office. The Perot stamp, Bermuda’s first postage stamp, issued in 1848, was printed by Bermuda’s first Postmaster, WB Perot. During the months of April through October, there are usually two cruise ships moored at the city’s piers. Ferry trips are available round Hamilton Harbour, and also longer cruises through the Great Sound to the west stopping at Somerset Bridge, the rural village of Somerset, and the Royal Naval Dockyard. The restored 19th-century Fort Hamilton welcomes visitors to its formidable ramparts, cannon, underground web of limestone tunnels and spectacular view of Hamilton. The Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute, an oceanic discovery center, unfolds the wonders of underwater exploration and deep ocean ecology.
ElsewhereIn Somerset, on the western end of the island, you will find the smallest drawbridge in the world, Somerset Bridge. Fort Scaur is a good place to picnic, swim and enjoy the panoramic view of the picturesque Great Sound.
At the far eastern end of the chain of islands is the 17th-century Town of St George, Bermuda’s first capital, founded in 1612. It has been the focus of considerable recent restoration; today, the Town’s narrow winding lanes and historic landmarks appear much as they did more than three centuries ago. At the corner of Duke of Kent Street and Featherbed Alley is a working model of a 17th-century printing press in the St George's Historical Society Museum. Also to be seen is the Bermuda National Trust Museum in the Globe Hotel, once an office for Confederate officers during America’s Civil War; the Stocks & Pillory; and the replica of the
Deliverance, one of Bermuda’s first ships. St George also has many excellent pubs, restaurants and shops. A comfortable walk from the Town is Gates Fort, which dates back to the1620, and is built on a promontory overlooking Town Cut and the sea, offering a spectacular view of the ocean and harbor. Nearby is Fort St Catherine, built in 1614, the largest and one of the most fascinating of the island’s fortifications. At the very opposite tip of Bermuda, on the western side, is the Royal Naval Dockyard on Ireland Island North. Here you'll find the six-acre Keep, the island's largest fort and home of the Bermuda Maritime Museum. Back in the east end in Hamilton Parish is the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo, which is located in Flatts Village, and the Crystal Caves of Bermuda, featuring two of the best-known caves, Crystal and Fantasy, made up of sprawling underground systems and crystalline tidal pools. They are open daily all year. The best view of the island is from Gibbs' Hill Lighthouse, in Southampton parish. Two notable churches on the island include Old Devonshire Church on the Middle Road in Devonshire Parish, and St Peter’s Church on Duke of York Street in the old Town of St George. Found throughout the island are circles of stone, called Moongates, a design brought to Bermuda in the 19th century by a sea captain who had seen them on a voyage to China. Oriental legend has it that honeymooners should walk through them and make a wish.
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