Parks and the outdoors in Kingston

Parks and the outdoors in Kingston

1. See

   Devon House

   One of the best example of Jamaican architecture, the Devon House was built by George Stiebel, the nation's first black millionaire. Much of the interior furniture is not original, but it upholds the 19th century mansion style. The courtyard has craft shops, a few restaurants, and the most famous ice cream shop on the island.

   The Mansion is open Mon-Sat 9:30AM-5PM, the courtyard 10AM-6PM, and the gardens are open daily 9:30AM-10PM·US$24 for a tour of the mansion. Entry to garden and shops is free

2. See

   Emancipation Park

   Offers free concerts occasionally in the summer and during the Christmas. The six-acre park includes fountains and public art. The park is known for the large sculpture Redemption Song at the park's main entrance.Redemption Song, which takes its name from Bob Marley's song of the same name, is an 11-ft-high (approximately 3 m) bronze sculpture by Jamaican artist Laura Facey. The sculpture features a male and female figure gazing to the skies – symbolic of their triumphant rise from the horrors of slavery. The statue was unveiled in July 2003, in time for the park's first anniversary. The park is in New Kingston, opened on 31 July 2002, the day before Emancipation Day. Prime Minister P.J. Patterson's address to open the park he acknowledged that the park is a commemoration of the end of slavery. Even though the park doesn't provide food and drink, except ice-cream, restaurants and cafés are nearby.

3. See

   Hope Botanical Gardens

   The second largest Botanical Garden in the Caribbean after the one in Santo Domingo. The garden gets its name from the man Richard Hope who helped capture Jamaica for Great Britain and was given the property to reward him for his faithfulness to the Crown. Hope established a sugar plantation here. In 1758 the first stone aqueducts were built here, channeling the water of the Hope River and still part of the city's water supply system. In 1881 the government bought a part of the plantation and set up the botanical garden, much of which was first used as an experimental farm. Here new species of sugarcane, coffee, cocoa and pineapple was grown. Until the 1907 earthquake it was possible to travel here by tram from the city centre. Queen Elizabeth II visited the park in 1953 and since that "Royal" has been part of its name. There's a small zoo and a restaurant in the park. The garden has seen better days, but the zoo has been renovated and expanded.

   Open now · closes 6:30 pm·Free

4. See

   Lime Cay

   Beach off the coast of Port Royale must take a boat from Port Royal fisherman or the hotel to island. Island is famous as the location for final scene in The Harder they Come. Crowded party spot on the weekends with food and drink available for purchase, much more sedate and often deserted on weekdays. You can camp overnight if you arrange a next-day pickup time, but be careful, as you can't exactly swim to shore!

5. See

   National Heroes Park

   Originally this was the horse race track of Kingston and as such also goes by the names Racecourse or George VI Memorial Park. In the southern end of the park, there's a big memorial stone, and it's the burial place of the national heroes Marcus Garvey, Alexander Bustamante and Norman Manley. There are statues of Paul Bogle, Simon Bolivar, and the Cuban general Antoneo Maceo. On the southern end of the park there are the ministries of finance and education.

6. Do

   Sabina Park

   Established in 1895, this has a capacity of 15,600. It hosts the island team and Jamaica Tallawahs in the T20 Caribbean Premier League.

7. See

   Ward Theatre

   The massive white and blue theatre building north of the William Grant Park is definitely an eyecatcher. The neoclassical building is the third theater building standing on this place and was gifted to the city by rum magnate Colonel Charles J. Ward in 1912. The theatre is a national heritage site and has more than 800 seats with its interior hardly changed since its inauguration. However, not much else has been renovated either, and the building is in a quite bad condition. The population of downtown do not really have a relationship to the cultural side of this building whereas the richer inhabitants avoid the surroundings at nighttime.

8. See

   William Grant Park

   Former parade ground with a colourful history. In 1694 a fortification was built on this place, with the guns aimed at the harbour. It was torn down in 1870 and the place was turned into a parade ground, named Victoria Park after the queen. A statue of Queen Victoria was placed here, in addition to a gallows. In 1977 the park got its current name, and the queen's statue was joined by statues of Alexander Bustamante and Norman Manley. In the end of the 1980s the parade grounds were remodelled into a park.

9. Eat

   China Garden

   Chinese cuisine.

   Mon–Sat 11:30AM–9PM, Sun noon–7PM·around US$10

10. Eat

    Stanford & Earl's Juice Garden

    Vegetarian restaurant.

    Mon-Sat 7AM-6:30 PM·up to US$10

Listings from the Wikivoyage guide to Kingston (CC BY-SA 4.0).