EZTrip.com International Destination Guide and Hotel Listings

St Barts' capital, dollhouse-size GUSTAVIA , is an appealing blend of red-roofed villas and heavy-set grey-stone buildings that plays second fiddle to its deep U-shaped harbour, where yacht-watching over a bottle of wine at a waterfront café ranks as the unofficial town sport. A close runner-up for that title is shopping , as dozens of duty-free boutiques line the main drag, Rue de la République.

The town's few historical sights can all be seen in under an hour. The architec-tural highlight, the chunky circa-1800 Swedish Wall House , anchors the west side of the harbour from Place Vanadis , named for the last Swedish military vessel to leave the island after the 1878 French repossession ceremony. The former storehouse now hosts the mundane Musée de St Barthélemy (Mon 2.30-6pm, Tues -Fri 8.30am-12.30pm & 2.30-6pm, Sat 9am-1pm; ¬2), a modest collection of tools, maps and other oddities. On the south side of the port, the cheerful 1855 St Bartholomew Anglican church, with its sandstone facade topped by a minute wood-shingled belfry, contrasts sharply with the sombre, Hispanic-influenced Notre-Dame de l'Assomption nearby. A short walk west from both churches is Gustavia's small beach, the pinkish seashell-covered Anse du Grand Galet , not surprisingly a boon for beachcombers. At the other end of town, a red-topped lighthouse graces a promontory once home to Fort Gustaf , though scant evidence of its military origins remains save the odd cannon and sentinel; the main attraction today is the magnificent view of Gustavia and surrounding islands.