Port of Spain and Fort George Sightseeing Tour

Independence Square and the city centre

Independence Square is the long, tree-lined boulevard at the heart of downtown Port of Spain, stretching from the port toward the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. It is overlooked by the twin towers of the Central Bank, the tallest buildings on the skyline, and surrounded by lively shopping streets where the city's mix of African, Indian, Chinese, European and Middle Eastern heritage shows in every shop sign and market stall.

A few blocks away stands the Red House, the striking red Beaux-Arts building that is the historic seat of Parliament, rebuilt in the early 20th century after a fire and recently restored. Nearby are the Supreme Court and Woodford Square, long the city's public meeting place. A Port of Spain city tour starts here because these streets tell the story of the nation from colony to independence in 1962.

Queen's Park Savannah

Queen's Park Savannah is the great green heart of Port of Spain, a vast open park of around 100 hectares ringed by a road that locals proudly call one of the largest roundabouts in the world. Big shade trees, joggers, food vendors and cricket and football games fill it every day, and in Carnival season it becomes the main stage of the celebrations.

Along its western side stand the Magnificent Seven, a row of ornate mansions built in the early 1900s in a mix of styles, with turrets, fretwork, coloured tiles and grand verandas; some are now government buildings. The national museum is also close by. Your guide drives around the Savannah and stops for photos, explaining who built the mansions and how the park became the meeting place of the city.

Royal Botanic Gardens

On the northern edge of the Savannah lie the Royal Botanic Gardens, founded in 1818 and among the oldest botanic gardens in the Western Hemisphere. Their lawns and winding paths are shaded by tall royal palms, huge flowering trees and rare species collected from tropical regions around the world, alongside native plants of Trinidad, and the gardens sit next to the official residence of the President.

The tour includes a walk here, giving you a sense of the island's native plant life and a cool, peaceful break from the traffic. Look out for the bright flowers of the flamboyant and the immortelle trees in season, and for hummingbirds and parrots in the canopy. Is the Botanic Gardens worth visiting in Port of Spain? For plant and bird lovers it is one of the most pleasant places in the city.

St. James, the Avenue and Fort George

From the gardens the tour drives along the Avenue in Woodbrook, a street famous for its restaurants and lively evenings, and continues to St. James, a busy suburb known for its street food stalls, music and lively atmosphere. Then the road climbs steeply into the hills above the city to Fort George, built by the British in 1804 as a defensive retreat and signal station.

From its stone ramparts, with old cannons still in place, the view is spectacular: the whole city spread along the coast, the green Northern Range behind it, and the sea stretching west to the hills of the Paria Peninsula in Venezuela, depending on the weather. Fort George is the highlight of the tour and the best viewpoint in Port of Spain, and the morning light makes it ideal for photos before your drop-off.