Gustavia St Barths is an extremely pleasant town to visit, and with little more than 3,000 permanent island residents (8,000 on the entire island), it’s also peaceful and quaint.
Gustavia St Barths is an extremely pleasant town to visit, and with little more than 3,000 permanent island residents (8,000 on the entire island), it’s also peaceful and quaint.
Gently rolling hills, well-manicured gardens, stone docks, and plenty of moored sailboats are part of first impressions of this small, pretty port. Gustavia Harbor welcomes thousands of cruises each year. Once debarked, passengers can quickly walk to the heart of Gustavia.
Car rentals, which can easily be rented upon arrival, are the best way to get beyond the harbor.If Gustavia St Barts is your port of call and you’re only in for a day trip or a few hours, there are plenty of attractions to explore within the immediate area.
One of the best things to do in Gustavia is to check out the many shopping options, as well as explore the many excellent restaurants about town. Rue du General De Gaulle, Rue Oscar II, and Quai de la Republique keep everyone busy with endless shopping and other things to do in Gustavia. These avenues are best for sourcing out the island’s top buys, most unique souvenirs, and paintings. An easy walk from the Gustavia Harbor, these top retail spots provide mostly French imports and few handmade indigenous crafts.
From French-Creole favorites to fresh seafood and wonderful grilled specialties, the island offers some of the best food in the Caribbean, and some fantastic harborfront restaurants and cafes, too. The famous Jimmy Buffet Cheeseburger at one local grill derives from the singer’s world-famous song “Cheeseburger in Paradise” and it turns out he was right on the mark.
The charm of the island’s capital lies in its architecture, from the vestiges of the Swedish era with a pretty little Anglican church topped with a cupola in wood to various colonial-style houses, some painted in bright Caribbean colors and others cool behind their white clapboard facades and slatted shutters.