Freeport, Bahamas

Freeport, Bahamas, The Information by Rough Guides
With only about 40,000 residents, FREEPORT/LUCAYA's many roads often lead to nowhere, through undeveloped bush and grandly named but still-deserted subdivisions awaiting development. Even in the commercial centre of Freeport, the port-authority headquarters, banks and apartment complexes – large colonial confections in pink, blue and yellow – manage to poke out above the treetops, but are still separated by significant remaining stands of pine forest. A utilitarian town with no organic centre or street life – everyone lives in the suburbs – it's not a good place for strolling or sightseeing, though easy enough to navigate on foot for visiting shops and restaurants.

Freeport's main commercial district is centred on The Mall, located between Ranfurly Circus – named for a British royal governor who supported the city's development in the 1950s – and Churchill Square, about ten blocks north. Surrounding the city centre, The Mall is bound on one side by West Mall Drive, and on the other by East Mall Drive, where most of the hotels and restaurants are located. Tourist activity is focused on the south end of East Mall Drive, around Ranfurly Circus and the International Bazaar, a faded warren of tacky shops and cafes marked by red Japanese-style Torii gates. In addition to several serviceable but uninspired restaurants, a straw market and assorted souvenir stands, there are duty-free shops selling jewellery, perfume, Cuban cigars, rum, resort wear and crystal.

East from Ranfurly Circus on Sunrise Highway, and south on Seahorse Road, Port Lucaya and the beachfront hotels of Lucaya comprise a resort area with a more cheerful atmosphere than Freeport's, with carefully tended lawns and shrubbery, and tidy, candy-coloured shops and houses. A seaside suburb first developed in the 1960s, Lucaya is dominated by the brand-new and massive Our Lucaya Beach and Golf Resort, fronting Lucayan Beach, with two golf courses. Across the street from Our Lucaya is Port Lucaya Marketplace, a busy, colourful tourist market overlooking the boats at Port Lucaya Marina, with shops selling clothing, jewellery, perfume, crystal and china, open-air stalls displaying straw work and other souvenirs, and several lively restaurants and bars packed with vacationers.