Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
lemurs, a pair of jaguar siblings and a small herd of African pygmy goats. The undisputed
highlight, however, is the small regiment of marching West Indian flamingos, who strut
their stuff at 10:30am, 2:10pm and 4:10pm daily. Pint-sized visitors will thrill at feeding
the lory parrots by hand at 11am, 1:30pm and 3:30pm.
Fort Charlotte
FORT
( W Bay St; 8am-4pm; ) Built between 1787 and 1790 to guard the west entrance
to Nassau Harbour, this massive fort was the pet project of Lord Dunmore, who named it
after King George III's wife. Ill-designed (the troop's barracks were built directly in the line
of fire!) and hugely over-budget, it quickly took on the name 'Dunmore's Folly.' What's
more, it was never even used. Today its moat, dungeon and underground tunnels make an
intriguing excursion. Kids will especially enjoy the re-creation of a torture chamber. Tours
are free, but guides expect a tip.
PARADISE ISLAND
Shimmering Paradise Island, linked to Nassau by two great arcing bridges, is built for one
thing and one thing only: pleasure. Its landscape seems entirely artificial: glittering hotel
towers, hangar-sized casinos, prefab shopping villages, impeccably manicured lawns.
It wasn't always this way. Back in the day, Paradise was a muddy plot of farmland known
by the far less melodious moniker of 'Hog Island.' All that changed with the 1959 arrival
of A&P supermarket heir Huntington Hartford II, who renamed the place Paradise Island
with an eye towards turning it into the next Monte Carlo. In 1998 South African billionaire
Sol Kerzner opened Atlantis, a vast and ever-expanding resort, shopping complex and wa-
ter park which now dominates the island's landscape.
Today Paradise Island caters to every sector of fun-seeker: families with children, hon-
eymooners, high-stakes gamblers, bachelor partiers. This isn't a place for budget or off-the-
beaten-path travel: long lines, noisy crowds and inflated prices are the name of the game
here. But if you know what you're getting into, it's hard to imagine a better place to have a
wild good time.
Atlantis' central hotel, the
Atlantis Royal Towers
, is a sight in and of itself, with shop-
ping, a casino, and a faux archaeological excavation and giant aquarium windows in its
lower lobby. The adjacent
Marina Village
is a popular shopping and eating destination.
Aquaventure
WATER PARK
(
www.atlantis.com
;
adult/child/hotel guests $110/90/free; ) Kids and adults alike will
hyperventilate at the sight of this astonishing 141-acre water park, an Indiana Jones-style
vision of the ruins of the Lost City of Atlantis. The vast park - one of the largest in the
