Hamilton, BM

Marcus Samuelsson's harbourfront restaurant at the Hamilton Princess hotel — Caribbean-American menu, glass-walled room over the harbour. Bermuda's marquee modern restaurant.

1957-vintage English-style pub on Burnaby Street — fish chowder with sherry pepper and black rum (the Bermudian way), bangers and mash, dark wood interior. The reliable Hamilton pub.

Front Street restaurant in the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute building — seafood-leaning menu, big windows over the harbour, the long-running lunch room for cruise visitors and locals alike.

1932-vintage pub at Bailey's Bay where the Bermuda Rum Swizzle was invented — pub food, dollars stapled to every wall, a tradition every Bermudian has visited. East-end stop on a Crystal Caves day.

St George's harbourside restaurant — fish chowder, Bermuda fish sandwich (wahoo on raisin bread, the canonical version), grilled local fish. Casual, walk-in, the right lunch on a St George's day.

Hamilton daytime cafe doing the city's best brunch — eggs, smoked salmon, big sandwiches, serious coffee. The walk-in lunch when the harbour restaurants feel too much.

Hamilton Middle Eastern restaurant doing tagines, mezze and shisha pipes — long-running family-run room. The city's grown-up alternative to pub dinners.

Front Street French bistro doing classical French cooking in a small dining room — steak frites, mussels, the city's most ambitious bistro menu. The dressed-up dinner choice in Hamilton.

Hamilton casual Italian — fresh pasta cooked to order at the open kitchen, big portions, family-friendly. Walk-in, cheap, the easy weeknight dinner.

Cult St Monica's Road takeaway doing the proper Bermuda fish sandwich — wahoo, raisin bread, secret slaw, hot sauce, tartar. Lunch only, locals queue for it.

Hamilton daytime cafe-bistro doing globally-influenced breakfast and lunch — bowls, sandwiches, smoothies, sharp coffee. The polished alternative to Yours Truly.

Dockyard seafood restaurant overlooking the Great Sound — fish, chowder, fritters and Caribbean lobster in season. The Dockyard lunch when you're on a ferry day-trip.

Twenty-two-kilometre walking and biking trail along the route of the old Bermuda Railway — broken into nine sections of 2-5km each. The island's defining outdoor route, partly coastal, partly inland.

Coastal park walk linking Horseshoe Bay, Warwick Long Bay, Jobson's Cove and Chaplin Bay along the south shore — about 3km of pink-sand beaches and limestone outcrops.

Sixty-acre coastal reserve in Smith's Parish — boardwalks, salt marshes, an estuary, the Spanish Rock historic carving. The island's most-walked nature reserve.

East-end coastal reserve with a stretch of unbroken pink sand, a wildlife observation tower and easy walking paths. Less crowded than the south shore beaches.

Two-kilometre cliff walk on the south shore from Astwood Park to Church Bay — limestone cliffs, small coves, snorkel-friendly Church Bay reef. Less famous than the main south-shore walk and beautiful for it.

Naval and maritime history museum inside the Royal Naval Dockyard's old keep — Bermuda's slavery story, the Sea Venture wreck and the founding, an immersive 3D wreck exhibit. The country's defining museum.

Compact aquarium, natural-history museum and zoo on the north shore in Flatts Village — North Atlantic ocean tank, sloths, alligators, lemurs. Family-magnet half-day.

Thirty-six-acre garden south of Hamilton with a fragrance garden, palm house, the official residence of the Premier. Free, easy walking, the urban escape.

Hamilton's national art gallery on Church Street showing Bermuda's permanent collection plus rotating contemporary shows. Free, small, well-curated.

Sheltered beach inside the Royal Naval Dockyard with calm water, a clear snorkel trail, beach bar and live music nights. The cruise-day beach but useful any day for an easy half-day swim.

Dolphin encounter programme inside the National Museum's keep harbour — meet-and-greet through to swim-with-dolphins. Conservation focus is real but reviews note ethical questions; choose tier carefully.

Half-day glass-bottom boat tours from Hamilton harbour out to local shipwrecks and reefs — dry alternative to snorkelling, good with kids or non-swimmers. Multiple operators.

The pink-sand crescent that defines Bermuda's beach reputation — protected horseshoe of fine pink-tinted sand backed by limestone cliffs, calm shallow water inside the reef. Crowded in cruise season but worth the visit anyway.

Half-mile of pink sand backed by rugged cliffs and dune scrub — the quieter alternative to Horseshoe Bay. Most of the year you'll find a stretch to yourself.

Restored 19th-century British naval base at Bermuda's western tip — National Museum of Bermuda, Clocktower Mall, glass-blowing studio, Dolphin Quest. A walkable half-day with multiple attractions in one precinct.

Underground cave with crystal-clear lake and a pontoon walkway, plus the sister Fantasy Cave next door. Stalactites and stalagmites, dramatic lighting, kid-friendly tour.

UNESCO-listed colonial town at Bermuda's east end — narrow lanes, 17th-century buildings, Tucker House Museum, St Peter's Church (the oldest continually used Anglican church outside Britain). A working historic district, not a museum.

Cast-iron lighthouse built in 1846 — one of the oldest cast-iron lighthouses in the world. Climb the 185 stairs for the panoramic view across the south shore; tea room at the base.

Main street of Hamilton along the harbour — pastel colonial buildings, taxi rank, ferry terminal, shops and restaurants. The walking spine of the capital.

Small protected swimming cove near St George's framed by sculptural limestone rocks — calm shallow water, snorkel-friendly, the East End's signature beach. Small, easy, family-friendly.