The capital, Kingstown is busy by local standards yet never hectic. The main shopping streets have covered walkways with stone arches that face onto the road and many of the buildings are also made of this rough volcanic stone.
The centre is relatively small and easy to navigate; its streets are laid out on a grid with the harbour to the left as you face out to sea, the shopping area in the middle and administrative buildings together with the Catholic and Anglican cathedrals to the right.
High on a bluff, 200 meters above the sea, at the far right of Kingstown sits the 200-year-old British colonial fortress of Fort Charlotte.
There are regular outside fruit and vegetable markets, a daily indoor fresh food market and also an indoor fish market. This is where most of St Vincent's chefs get their ingredients for the food that is served that night at the restaurants in and around town.
The harbour area is bustling with fishing boats, ferries, cargo ships and the occasional cruise liner all loading and unloading passengers and goods. Just inland from the harbour front are the old 19 centaury houses and warehouses built with bricks from the ballast of vessels bound for Europe laden with sugar, arrowroot and cotton.
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