Port of Spain: See
The beaches.
Carnival. The Trinidad Carnival is one of the best in the world and hotels can be guaranteed to fill up when it is held and double their rates! Taking place in the days before Lent it is a mixture of parades and music and calypso competitions. Participants wear elaborate costumes and parade dancing through the streets to the sounds of a steel band or a soca band. Each year on Carnival Sunday a competition is held to award the King and Queen of Carnival. On Carnival Monday and Shrove Tuesday, the bands compete to win the "Band of the Year" title. Everyone takes part, from young to old and rich to poor. In the weeks before the events the Steel Bands rehearse nightly at their Pan Yards. There may be several in one stretch of road, such as Western Main, and you can buy a beer and watch the rehearsals.
1 International Waterfront Centre, 1A Wrightson Rd. A major skyscraper development designed to revitalise the city's waterfront with the Hyatt Regency Trinidad at its heart. This is the only section of Port of Spain's waterfront which is accessible to the public.
2 National Academy for Performing Arts, Frederick St (city side of the Savannah), ☏ +1 868 624-5951. Opened at the end of 2009, the construction of this building led to numerous allegations of corruption. The design is supposed to represent Trinidad's national flower but it has been much criticised as being out of keeping with the environment. "Copulating slugs" was perhaps one of the politer descriptions.
3 Emperor Valley Zoo. Trinidad and Tobago's only zoo, features a wide variety of tropical species including lions, tigers, monkeys, birds and fish. It is in the capital, Port of Spain. The Botanical Gardens contains many species of plants and is right next to the zoo, close to the President's house. (updated Oct 2018)
4 Royal Botanic Gardens, Circular Rd, Cotton Hill, ☏ +1 868 622-6494. Established in 1818, these are one of the oldest gardens in the Caribbean. 700 trees of which 13% are indigenous to Trinidad and Tobago.
5 Royal Victoria Institute, Frederick St, ☏ +1 868-623-0339. This is the National Museum and Art Gallery of Trinidad and Tobago. Founded in 1892, this striking colonial building houses an extensive collection of artifacts and antiques from throughout Trinidad's history.
6 The Magnificent Seven Houses, Maraval Road. . These seven buildings from colonial times have very interesting histories. Only one, 7 Roomor, is still a private residence. The biggest, 8 Queen's Royal College, is a major secondary school. 9 Stollmeyer's Castle, a mansion built like Balmoral Castle in Scotland, was built on the money of an entrepreneur in the coconut water business called Conrad Frederick Stollmeyer.
10 Knowsley Building, Dundonald St, City side of the Savannah. Built in 1902 by a wealthy merchant, Mr. William Gordon, this house features a veranda made of white marble, hand hewn yellow limestone bricks, and a staircase constructed from wood from Guyana. …