Things to do in Kingston
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Jamaica House
About half a kilometer further up Hope Rd from Devon House on the left, Jamaica House is faced by a columned portico and fronted by expansive lawns. Initially built in 1960 as the residence of the prime minister, the building today houses the prime minister's office. Visitors are restricted to peering through the fence.
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Hot Pot
A casual, economical haunt with a small back patio that attracts workers from the nearby hotels, Hot Pot serves unfussy, indisputably delicious Jamaican home-style cooking with dishes such as ackee and saltfish, escoveitched fish and garlic chicken. Wash it down with a fresh tamarind juice, coconut water or a Red Stripe.
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Akbar
Kingston’s best Indian restaurant draws crowds for its gracious service, garden graced by a fountain and reasonably priced menu that includes tandoori and vegetarian dishes, complemented by excellent Indian breads. Be sure to insist on extra spiciness, if fire’s what you crave. Akbar offers a buffet lunch special (US$15).
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Sabina Park
Renovated for the 2007 Cricket World Cup Sabina Park is the place for cricket in Jamaica. The 30,000-seat arena hosted its first test match in 1929 and has been a focal point for the sport ever since. Attending a match – particularly an international test – is a must whether or not you are a fan.
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Museum of Coins and Notes
The Bank of Jamaica, the national mint and treasury at the east end of Ocean Blvd, is fronted by a tall concrete statue of Noel ‘Crab’ Nethersole (minister of finance from 1955 to 1969). Inside the bank building you’ll find a small Museum of Coins and Notes displaying Jamaican currency through the centuries.
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Institute of Jamaica
Toward the south end of East St, the Institute of Jamaica is the nation’s small-scale equivalent of the British Museum or Smithsonian. The institute hosts permanent and visiting exhibitions, and features a lecture hall, plus the National Library with Jamaican newspapers and texts dating back more than two centuries.
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Naval Dockyard
The old Naval Dockyard lies to the east of Morgan's Harbour Hotel. Its perimeter walls still stand, as does the Polygon Battery and torpedo slipways, though most of the buildings within are gone. The old coaling station lies immediately to the east. Most of the famous ships of the Royal Navy - from the 18th century to the age of steam - berthed here.
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House of Assembly
On the eastern side of Parade Square is the redbrick House of Assembly, erected in 1762 and today housing the offices of the St Catherine Parish Council. It has a beautiful wooden upper story with a pillar-lined balcony. The Assembly and Supreme Court sat here in colonial days, when it was the setting for violent squabbles among feuding parliamentarians.
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King’s House
King’s House was initially the home of the Lord Bishop of Jamaica. The original house was badly damaged in the 1907 earthquake. Today’s visitors explore the remake, built in 1909 to a new design in reinforced concrete. The dining room contains two particularly impressive full-length portraits of King George III and Queen Charlotte by Sir Joshua Reynolds.
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Ashanti Oasis
If an oasis within a garden is hard to envision, check out this serene spot centered on a small fountain. You’ll be rewarded with excellent vegetarian food from a changing I-tal menu featuring hearty soups (the pumpkin is absolutely divine), veggie burgers and combo platters anchored by a variety of tofu offerings. Fresh juices or a glass of the homemade aloe wine are a must.
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Rib Kage Bar and Grill
While catching a lot of the spillover from ever-popular Red Bones Blues Café across the street, Rib Kage attracts its own following with its succulent baby-back ribs and an array of southern US soul food, served in a relaxed, wood-accented setting. Burgers and a selection of fish entrees are also available. The original branch, at 149 Constant Spring Rd, offers outdoor seating.
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Up on the Roof
Above the bustle of New Kingston’s main drag, this atmospheric rooftop terrace is popular with locals and a terrific starting point before a night on the town. The marlin salad and shrimp with garlic jerk mayo stand out in a menu of Jamaican standards. There’s a sporadic calendar of jazz events and poetry readings; on Saturday, the bar mixes cocktails until the last patron leaves.
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Mac’s Chop House
Perhaps Mac should pay more attention to the chops heralded by its name, as the steaks at this sleek yet intimate spot next door to the Quad nightclub do not justify the New York prices. Nevertheless, the appetizers (notably an unforgettable smoked marlin ‘trilogy’) and the fish dishes are excellent. The wine list is one of the widest-ranging on the island. Reservations essential.
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Giddy House
A small brick hut, the Giddy House (so known because it produces a sense of disorientation to people who enter), sits alone amid scrub-covered, wind-blown sand 100m to the southwest of Fort Charles. The redbrick structure was built in 1888 to house the artillery store. The 1907 earthquake, however, briefly turned the spit to quicksand and one end of the building sank, leaving the store at a lopsided angle.
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Emperial Kish Inn
The sign over the bar reading ‘Love the Animals’ immediately reveals where the place is coming from. The only flesh here – yourself notwithstanding – is that which is pressed in the local greeting, the Jamaican ‘yardie’ handshake, where friends push their fists together while swiping thumbs. On the menu is gluten brownstew, curry tofu, roast yams and an ongoing dialogue about the intricacies of Rastafari.
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Iron Bridge
At the bottom of Barrett St, turn left onto Bourkes Rd and follow it east to the narrow Iron Bridge spanning the Rio Cobre. The span was made of cast iron prefabricated at Colebrookdale, England, and was erected in 1801 on a cut-stone foundation that dates to 1675. The only surviving bridge of its kind in the Americas, it is still used by pedestrians, if barely. A portion of the neglected structure finally collapsed in 2001.
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Grog Shoppe
Lodged in an expansive brick building that used to be the servants’ quarters for Devon House, this atmospheric choice has the look and feel of a colonial pub. The menu features classic pub lunches, such as corned tongue, and tinkered-with Jamaica favorites such as ackee crepes, baked crab backs and roast suckling pig with rice and peas. It’s known for its Sunday brunch (US$17). There’s live music Tuesday to Saturday evenings.
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El Dorado Room
The European menu has hints of the Caribbean as well as Jamaican favorites such as pepperpot soup and grilled snapper. Bring a sweater for the frigid air-conditioning. The hotel also has a less expensive outdoor restaurant that serves continental fare. A seafood buffet is offered for Wednesday lunch and dinner. A Jamaican buffet lunch is offered weekdays, and a Sunday brunch buffet (US$21) draws the well-heeled, hungry locals.
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Angler’s Club
AKA the Fisherman’s Tavern, this is a funky watering hole drawing locals who wash in and out, overindulge in white rum, and pick fights while bartenders boogie at the bar. ‘There are a few scalawags, but mostly it’s harmless stuff, ’ one bartender said. It has tremendous character on Friday night when a mountain of speakers is built 7m high in the square and ska music reverberates across the harbor.
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Sculpture Park
This sculpture garden, on the grounds of the University of Technology, just north of the University of the West Indies campus, was unveiled in 2000 featuring nine sculptures by acclaimed Caribbean artists. Notable figures include Laura Facey’s sculpture of a woman’s torso stretched in a yoga position, and Basil Watson’s The Compass, depicting humanity shaping the environment with the use of technology.
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Fort Charles
Jamaica’s latitude and longitude are measured from the flagstaff of Fort Charles, a weathered redoubt originally laid in 1655. Among Port Royal’s six original forts, only Fort Charles withstood the 1692 earthquake. It was rebuilt in red brick in 1699 and added to several times over the years. It was originally washed by the sea on three sides, but silt gradually built up and it is now firmly landlocked.
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St Catherine District Prison
Walking southeast along Barrett St from the church, you'll pass behind the St Catherine District Prison. Hangings have been carried out here since 1714. Today, many prisoners are on death row in narrow cells that date back almost three centuries. Conditions in the prison, Jamaica's largest, were condemned in 1994 by the UN Human Rights Committee, and a British Member of Parliament described a recent visit as 'like something out of a nightmare.'
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St Andrew’s Scots Kirk
The octagonal Georgian brick structure of St Andrew’s Scots Kirk serves the United Church of Jamaica and Grand Cayman. It was built from 1813 to 1819 by a group of prominent Scottish merchants and is surrounded by a gallery supported by Corinthian pillars. Note the white-on-blue St Andrew cross in the stained-glass window. You’ll be amply rewarded if you visit during a service, when its acclaimed choir, the St Andrew Singers, performs.
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Gloria’s Top Spot
Around 100m east of the muster ground, this is the place to be on a Friday or Saturday night, when local men of all ages – from youths in the latest hip-hop fashion to geezers in yesterday’s duds – filter in and warm up at the bar to await the arrival of the women – from young and attired in spandex ‘batty riders’ to grannies in more conservative garb. By midnight, everyone is dancing to the latest sounds.
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African-Caribbean Heritage Centre
Presided over by the Institute of Jamaica, the Heritage Centre houses a library and a small yet informative gallery that is dedicated to the history of the Middle Passage and a sociocultural exploration of the African diaspora. It is also home to the Memory Bank, an engrossing oral-history archive created to preserve Jamaica’s rich folkloric traditions. The center also stages cultural events from lectures and symposia to readings and dance performance.
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