Settled by the French following the partition of St Kitts in 1628, the island capital, Basseterre, on the Caribbean coast, is French in name only today. Its centre, The Circus , reflects the town's later British dominion; the roundabout circling the green Berkeley Memorial Clock is allegedly modelled after London's Piccadilly, though the only obvious similarity is the traffic. Traces of British rule also dominate due east, in the historical town centre, Independence Square , where walkways imitating the spokes of a Union Jack are inlaid with red stones. A maiden-topped fountain at its nexus, a gift from Queen Elizabeth to commemorate St Kitts' independence in 1983, marks the spot that once hosted the Lesser Antilles' largest slave market ; slaves were bathed at the small red fountain on the square's south side prior to mounting the stage. The square looks onto the staid 1927 Immaculate Conception cathedral, its substantial twin-towered facade devoid of the drama associated with Anglican St George's , a few blocks northwest of the Circus. The French parish that originally stood here was incinerated in 1706 by the British, who rebuilt their own church in 1856-59, complete with menacing spearheads on the ground-floor Gothic windows. Hotels in Basseterre |
ROOMS ST KITTS AND NEVIS
