Castries is the capital city of Saint Lucia. Founded by the French in 1650, Castires now has a population of just over 11,000.

Of itself, Castries doesn't have a huge amount to offer visitors, and it's usually just a place that you'll pass through on your way to the more obvious attractions of Saint Lucia.

Even though Castries doesn't have much to offer, you can usually find a fair number of tourists wandering about the place, as the cruise ships that visit Saint Lucia dock at Pointe Seraphine, in the northern part of the city.

Culture and History

There is a tourist information office, a 15 minute walk from the town centre in the cruise ship dock at Pointe Seraphine.

Free maps are available from the information desk in the La Place Carenage mall on Jeremie Street, just along from the St.Lucia Fire Service building.

Travel to Castries - Visa Requirements

Flights and airtickets to Castries

  • George FL Charles Airport (SLU) is just outside of Castries. See the Saint Lucia#Get_in section for more information.

By boat

Many visitors will come into Castries on the cruise ships that dock at Point Seraphine.

For details on the ferries that operate from Castries, see the Saint Lucia#Get_in section.

There is actually an anchorage for sailing boats in Castries harbour, although most visitors on sailing boats tend to dock at Rodney Bay Marina, just outside of Gros Islet and then get a bus or taxi in.

Tours and Getting around Castries

Buses to Castries

These provide a cheap and fun way of getting around:

Castries tourist attractions and sightseeing

Castries city tours

  • wander around the lively local market on Jeremie Street.
  • visit the viewing point over the harbour, at Morne Fortune, just below Government House.
  • take a bus or taxi to Marigot Bay, where the 1967 film Dr. Doolittle was filmed.
  • relax in Derek Walcott Square.
  • top up your suntan on Vigie beach.

Castries souvenirs and shopping

There duty free shops in Pointe Seraphine, where the cruise ships dock, and also in La Place Carenage mall on Jeremie Street.

For more local goods, the busy market on Jeremie Street is worth a visit.

Castries Restaurants: cheap, moderate and expensive

There are cheap local eatries in a small alley that runs alongside the market and down to Jeremie Street.

A friendly and cheap cafe selling local food is on the first floor of a building on Derek Walcott square.

Castries nightlife, bars, clubs and pubs

Castries cheap and luxurious hotels, youth hostels and lodging

Contact

Get out

This page was last edited by Wikitravel user Linucks. Based on work by Wikitravel user(s) Texugo. - Content on this page is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 1.0 license

Didn't find what you were looking for?
Submit your question to the Castries travel forum
Subject
Question / Comment
Note: HTML tags will be removed.
Your Name (required)
Your Email (will not be published) (required)
Website (Optional)

Note: Hitting submit you grant Traveltips24 the right to edit, display and store the content you provide.