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Nassau
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Nassau, BahamasOpen-Meteo forecast.
Nassau city overview
Nassau works best as a base in Bahamas when you anchor days around Queen's Staircase, Fort Fincastle and Nassau Straw Market. Use those sights to understand the city's history, street life and visitor rhythm. Nassau International Airport handles the main arrival flow, so hotel choice should balance the centre, transfer time and day-trip plans.
Worth seeing
Queen's Staircase
Queen's Staircase is a named stop in Nassau worth keeping on the route when it fits the day's transport, timing and neighborhood plan.
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Fort Fincastle
Fort Fincastle is a clear heritage marker in Nassau, best used as a fixed point when grouping nearby streets, monuments and viewpoints.
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Nassau Straw Market
Nassau Straw Market gives Nassau a concrete street-life stop, with food, everyday shopping and local movement that helps visitors read the city.
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Atlantis Paradise Island
Atlantis Paradise Island adds the water-facing side of Nassau, making it a good break from museums, traffic and dense historic streets.
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Junkanoo Beach
Junkanoo Beach adds outdoor time to a Nassau stay, with open space, views or waterfront breathing room between denser city sights.
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Pirates of Nassau Museum
Pirates of Nassau Museum is a key Nassau culture stop, useful for understanding local history, collections and rainy-day planning near the main sightseeing route.
View on mapStay overview
Start with City centre for the easiest first Nassau stay, then compare Old Town and Waterfront when price, nightlife, quieter evenings or transfer timing matter more than being beside every major sight.
Hotels & areas
Nassau hotel choice is mostly about repeat journeys: use City centre for sightseeing, Old Town for a different local base, and Waterfront or Airport area when views, parking, airport timing or longer stays matter.
City centre
City centre is the most practical first base in Nassau, keeping main sights, restaurants and short local transfers close.
Best for: first visits, sightseeing, restaurantsSee hotel optionsOld Town
Old Town is the most practical first base in Nassau, keeping main sights, restaurants and short local transfers close.
Best for: first visits, sightseeing, restaurantsSee hotel optionsWaterfront
Waterfront suits travellers who want views, evening walks and a calmer base while still keeping central Nassau reachable.
Best for: views, quieter evenings, walksSee hotel optionsAirport area
Airport area works mainly for early departures, late arrivals or car pickup, not for a first Nassau sightseeing base.
Best for: early flights, late arrivals, car pickupSee hotel optionsFlights & airports
Lynden Pindling International Airport (NAS) arrival plan
- Lynden Pindling International Airport (NAS)About 13 km from the centre
Compare airport access against hotel location, arrival time, rental car pickup, late flights and onward driving before choosing the first night base.
- Andros Town Airport (ASD)About 61 km from the centre
Compare airport access against hotel location, arrival time, rental car pickup, late flights and onward driving before choosing the first night base.
- Chub Cay Airport (CCZ)About 67 km from the centre
Compare airport access against hotel location, arrival time, rental car pickup, late flights and onward driving before choosing the first night base.
Rental cars
Nassau day-trip car use
Do not rent a car for central Nassau unless parking and traffic are part of the plan; use one mainly for regional day trips.
Compare rental carsTravel tips
Best base
Choose City centre for a first stay because it keeps main sights, restaurants and practical local movement close.
Airport timing
Leave extra time for Nassau International Airport, especially for early flights, late arrivals, traffic or unfamiliar transfer routes.
Local movement
Plan each day in clusters around Queen's Staircase and Fort Fincastle so transfers do not consume the best sightseeing hours.
Day trips
Keep one flexible slot for nearby routes from Nassau, checking weather, transport and opening hours before committing.
Nearby ideas
Island · about 30 min · ferry from Paradise Island
Blue Lagoon Island
A private cay with a sheltered lagoon, sea lions and a beach day pass.
View on mapBeach · about 45 min · boat east from Nassau harbour
Rose Island
A long thin cay of empty sand, with snorkelling over the reef on its north side.
View on mapHeritage · about 40 min · car west along Southwest Bay Road
Clifton Heritage Park
Lucayan sites, a plantation ruin and an underwater sculpture garden, on the island's west end.
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City history
The town that would be called Nassau was founded in 1670 by British noblemen who brought British settlers with them to New Providence.
In 1684 the town was burned to the ground during the Raid on Charles Town.
William was the Dutch Stadtholder (stadhouder in Dutch), and, from 1689, the King of England, Scotland and Ireland.
It was rebuilt in 1695 under Governor Nicholas Trott and renamed Nassau in honour of King William III, who belonged to a branch of the House of Nassau.
In 1703, Spanish and French allied forces briefly occupied Nassau.
Thomas Walker was the island's last remaining appointed official and although evidence is scarce, it appears that he was acting in the role of deputy governor upon Benjamin Hornigold's arrival in 1713.
In 1776, the Battle of Nassau resulted in a brief occupation by American Continental Marines during the American War of Independence, where the marines staged their first amphibious raid on Fort Montague after attempting.
In April 1783, Andrew Deveaux, an American Loyalist who resettled on the island, set forth and recaptured the island for the British Crown.
With funds from privateering, a new fort, street lights and over 2300 sumptuous houses were built and Nassau was extended.
They built a fort, and named it Charles Town in honour of England's King Charles II.
Benjamin Hornigold, along with his great rival Henry Jennings, became the unofficial overlord of a veritable pirate republic which played host to the self-styled Flying Gang.
Rogers cleaned up Nassau and rebuilt the fort, using his own wealth to try to overcome problems.
He oversaw the construction of Fort Charlotte and Fort Fincastle in Nassau.
During the American Civil War, Nassau served as a port for blockade runners making their way to and from ports along the southern Atlantic Coast for continued trade with the Confederacy.