We spent over a month exploring St Lucia, and spent around a week based near the capital, Castries. What we realised during our research is you’ll find lots of information about the tourist hot spots in the south and the north of the island, such as Rodney Bay and Soufriere, but not much about Castries.
After exploring the area, we decided Castries shouldn’t be written off, and it’s definitely worth spending time exploring the city. So, we put together this guide of the best things to do in Castries to help you plan your trip here.
1. Castries Central Market & Vendor’s Arcade
Visiting Castries Central Market and the Vendor’s Arcade is a great way to experience the hustle and bustle of this small city. It’s the perfect place to mingle with locals, grab fruit and veg or pick up those touristy holiday souvenirs. Both of these markets are indoor and covered, and they’re located down on the waterfront, not far from where the cruise ships dock. It’s colourful, noisy and a typical Caribbean market, you can’t miss it.
At Castries Central Market, you’ll find a mixture of food stalls, drinks, clothing and souvenirs. Whereas at the vendor’s arcade, there aren’t any food options. We thought it was cool to walk around the fresh produce areas, but the souvenir stalls felt a bit samey, but most markets do.
🎒 On this walking tour, you can explore Castries Market, Derek Walcott Square and the oldest church in Castries.
2. Morne Fortune Viewpoint or Castries City Viewpoint
For beautiful, panoramic views across the capital city of St Lucia and further north, you should head to Morne Fortune Viewpoint. After a short, steep and winding drive out the south side of the city, you’ll find a viewing platform to your left and a few local vendors selling drinks, snacks and souvenirs.
From here, you’ll be able to take in breathtaking views of the ocean, Vigie Beach, airport and the city of Castries. On cruise ship days, you’ll also be able to get an almost birds-eye view of the cruise ship in Castries harbour.
Looking from right to left, you’ll notice the traditionally colourful and sparse Caribbean homes meander down the hill, gradually getting more populous as it meets the busy city, which features many larger buildings. One taxi driver referred to them as “our skyscrapers”. They were possibly 8-10 stories tall.
Top Tip: When you arrive at the viewpoint, look behind you to spot the big, grand house. This is actually the Governor General’s House! We drove up his driveway at first, thinking we’d arrived at the viewpoint – we were quickly met by large electronic gates which signalled; we were in the wrong place!
🎒 Visit Morne Fortune and 9 other hotspots in St Lucia on this 5 star food and rum tour in St Lucia!
🎒 On this 6-hour private tour, you can customise your itinerary to include all the best things to do in Castries as well as the rest of the island! Includes round-trip transportation from hotel or the cruise port.
3. Meadows Battery & Married Women’s Quarters
When taking a drive around the airport and Vigie Beach area, we stumbled across this hidden gem by complete chance. Built in 1898 by the British to defend the island from the French, Meadows Battery & Married Women’s Quarters now sits derelict, but it’s an amazing spot to explore. Over the last few years, volunteers have worked to clean up the site, which allows visitors like us to marvel at the original ruins.
From here, you can take in views across Castries and the Caribbean Sea and watch planes come and go on the runway right in front of you. It makes for some pretty incredible photos.
You won’t find much history about the Battery and Women’s Quarters, we did attempt to look online and couldn’t find much, and there aren’t any signs around. However, it does leave much to the imagination. With the ruins of army barracks, women’s quarters, ammunition and shell storage, old cannons, prisoner cells and incredible views it’s easy to picture what this place was once like.
When you arrive, you may think the buildings are the main event of this hidden spot. However, while they’re incredibly impressive, if you head further past them, you’ll come across the underground shell storage rooms and a staircase that heads down through a dark tunnel and opens out to incredible views across the Caribbean Sea and back to Castries harbour.
In this spot, we saw the most beautiful, crystal clear, turquoise water lapping onto a tiny, hidden cove behind the rocks. Since we visited, we’ve seen this is a good spot for snorkelling and cliff jumping.
This was definitely one of our favourite places to visit in Castries, perhaps even in the whole of Saint Lucia. We’d have loved to spend more time there, stay for sunset (the perfect spot), and explore all the buildings and outbuildings thoroughly, but we didn’t have enough time.
Top Tip: Just a short drive or walk around the corner from Meadows Battery, you’ll find Vigie Lighthouse. This is more of a well-known spot than the battery, perhaps because you can see it from many places around the capital. Sadly, we didn’t have time to make our way over there. We’re gutted we missed it as it looks like a cute little lighthouse.
You Might Like: 16 Best Things To Do in Soufriere, St Lucia
4. The Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Conception (Cathedral)
Did you know that St Lucia is home to the largest Cathedral in the Caribbean, The Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Conception?
We were lucky enough to visit this huge, beautiful Cathedral when a service was in full swing. With open doors to the public (literally), it was hard not to be drawn in by the many people singing, dancing and enjoying the service inside the beautiful architecture of this Cathedral. Built in 1767, the interior design, decorated by St. Lucian artist and National Cultural hero, Dunstan St. Omer, stunned us both. When there isn’t a service, the cathedral is open to visitors.
Although it’s located in the middle of a busy, built-up Caribbean city, where it feels like it doesn’t quite fit, a visit to this Cathedral is guaranteed to make you forget what’s outside the doors.
🥘 For something different during your trip in Castries, why don’t you consider a food tour? This highly rated food tour looks awesome!
5. Tapion Shoal
Located on the south side of Castries, Tapion Shoal isn’t actually marked on the map, we spotted it when we were on the north side of the harbour at Meadows Battery, where we saw a group of people walking across the stepping stones and climbing up the side of what appeared to be a tiny island cut off from the mainland.
We decided to take a drive and discover for ourselves. After parking up, we took a short walk up and around the coastline, in the general direction of where we knew land met the ocean.
What we found was Tapion Shoal! What looks like a miniature version of the film Shutter Island, is actually the navigation beacon for the south side of Castries Harbour.
There is a staircase going from the mainland, falling into the Caribbean Sea and continuing up the other side of the island. We expect there was some form of walkway here once upon a time. We couldn’t see where the staircase led to on the tiny, stand-alone island, which only added to our curiosity.
The water below is shallow and lined with rocks and stones, so on a calm day, it should be a fairly easy crossing. Unfortunately, it was a windy and choppy day for us, so we didn’t brave crossing over. If you get the chance to go, we imagine it’s more than worth it.
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6. Vigie Beach
Vigie Beach is probably one of the best beaches in St Lucia because it’s the nicest stretch of sand close to the cruise port – it’s just on the outskirts of Castries. Adjacent to the tiny airport runway, this long stretch of white sand and crystal clear water is the perfect escape from the busyness of the city centre and traffic-ridden roads. As you get closer to the airport, you’ll see several cars parked up. They tend to be parked here all day. Fear not. This doesn’t mean the beach is packed with people – they’re taxi drivers waiting for passengers to arrive.
The beach itself is long and relatively wide, making it perfect for a stroll, to lay and relax or go for a swim. Then, when you’ve soaked up some hot Caribbean sun, there are a few local bars and restaurants where you can grab a cold drink or something to eat.
🎒 On this 5 star full day tour, visit 11 of the best things to do in St Lucia including Castries, Vigie Beach, several waterfalls, quaint fishing villages and you’ll even head down to the south of the island! Lunch is included in this tour too.
Is Castries worth visiting?
Castries is definitely worth visiting. While it’s not the best place to visit in St Lucia (we think Soufriere is), there is still plenty of interesting things to do in Castries to fill a few hours, including Castries Central Market and Vendors Arcade, Castries City Viewpoint, Meadows Battery, Vigie Beach, the Cathedral and more.
Can you walk around Castries?
Yes, Castries is a walkable, small and relatively flat city, so getting around is easy. If you want to stretch your legs, Vigie Beach is walkable (30 minutes), or you could get a taxi.
Where to Stay in Castries?
We found Bel Jou Adults Only Hotel to be the perfect base for exploring Castries and further afield. It sits on a hill to the north side of Castries, and there is a shuttle bus to Vigie Beach that gets you into Castries. For exploring more of St Lucia, it’s a short 20 – 30 minute drive to Rodney Bay, and you’re a little closer to all the touristy must-dos in the Southwest of the island.
More St Lucia Travel Guides
We spent over a month exploring St Lucia, staying in 3 or 4 different spots on the island. As we moved around, we documented our experiences, places we uncovered, things we recommend and mistakes we made, and we’ve put everything we learned into St Lucia travel guides to make planning your trip easier.
- The 8 Best Waterfalls in St Lucia (+ Map & 2025 Update)
- 14 Beaches in St Lucia That Are Worth Visiting
- 16 Best Things To Do in Soufriere, St Lucia in 2025 + Map
- Should You Rent A Car In St Lucia?
- The 6 Best Restaurants in Soufriere, St Lucia
- Where to Stay in St Lucia: The Best Areas
- 27 Best Excursions in St Lucia We Recommend for 2025
- 20 Amazing Things to Do in St Lucia for Couples
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