The Tribune

It is time to take a new look at Nassau. For years, we have been calling it old, tired, in desperate need of a facelift and proper management. I’ve pounded the keyboard and the streets calling for a mayor or city manager, for true local government, for more experiences for the tens of thousands of guests whose first -  and sometimes only - experience is with downtown.

Then, slowly at first, I began uncovering its hidden gems. A tiny teahouse with almost doll-like furniture behind Balcony House and the vast parking lot to its west, beautifully restored by Central Bank. Inside, on those small wooden chairs, I am served a cup of coffee that felt like it was made with love. Fresh guava pastry on this particular day. A place where even looking at your cell phone felt too intrusive. Then Balcony House itself, a view into the past.

And more hidden gems. A whole host of makeshift umbrellas, ramshackle coverings, wooden shelves filled with fruit and hope and proprietors who could take a coconut and carve a piece of edible art, making a living talking with visitors, sharing stores of Bahamian culture on a rough-hewn rock and limestone street at the foot of Fort Fincastle. The scene -- a microcosm of a tourism attraction that erupted in small proportion rather than developed according to a plan.

I know – it is anathema to everything I have begged for over the years – a plan, preservation of historic artifacts and sites, respect for Nassau’s unique architecture, plaques, experiences. And all that is still true and needed. And will help preserve the city we love, the capital of The Bahamas.

But even without the structure in place, a new life is being born in this city and it is within our reach. Not as visitors, but as locals who just need to get out there and discover the hidden gems, the people who bring the city to life without ever asking to be recognized, the tours that have grown up in response to the increased demand of the cruise industry.

We hardly noticed because our eyes were trained on the north coast, the unceasing parade of thousands making their way in the heat from Nassau Cruise Port to Junkanoo Beach while just a few blocks south, the real Nassau was coming back to life.

On Delancey Street, a place visitors were warned not to go just a decade ago, is now booming. Tasty Teas that started out as a table and umbrella is now sprawling – the variety of teas and accessories and cups matched only by the moments of joy that Aunt Hilda Forbes brings when she stops by and tells the story of how soursop and other teas brought her back from an advanced stage of cancer. Guests hang on her every word and you just want to hug her, you are so touched. Now son Jay Forbes is expanding. He’s already converted a one-room schoolhouse where the likes of Alfred Sears and Craig Flowers once sat in tiny wooden desks into an ice cream parlour with homemade delights. Next he is planning to bring back limbo and fire dancing.

Down the street, John Watling’s Distillery entertained more than 400,000 guests in 2025, making it possibly the single most visited tourist attraction in The Bahamas. Before Pepin and Jose took it over and opened the doors in 2013, the neglected and abandoned property was a neighbourhood nightmare, derelict, a threat others might have seen as a tear-down but Pepin and Jose spent three years restoring the estate and today it is the anchor of the street with a range of experiences – mixology classes, run-tastings and more. Their rum wins awards. Their experiences win repeat visitors. The occasional concert or film draws locals.

Nearby is the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas with more activities than ever before.

Not far away is Graycliff, a world unto itself with hotel, restaurant, museum, chocolate factory, cigar rolling and the breathtaking pool with hand-painted tiles, one of the most beautiful and photographed in the world. Describing everything that makes Graycliff what it is would take an entire column. You have to experience it for yourself.

The Queen’s Staircase – 66 steps carved by slave labour, a tragic story but a treasure every Bahamian should experience – is unforgettable. Thanks to the half million dollars in improvements by the Nassau Paradise Island Promotion Board, it is easier than ever to walk.

In between the days of discovery over a period of a work week, I took a rowing lesson with the Nassau Rowing Club on Lake Cunningham.

But the best treat of all was a tour on the 2-storey bus as my dear friend Keevon Maynard, a lawyer by profession and tour operator by choice , shared information about the cemeteries we passed, the churches, the history of Nassau he knows so well. Bethel Baptist Church, built in 1790, next to Buena Vista Estate, built 1789, now home to John Watling’s Distillery,  is not only the oldest Baptist church in The Bahamas – it’s the oldest in the Caribbean.

The path less taken may just be the path most interesting to find. We still need a mayor for the city or a city manager, but meantime, discover for yourself the wonders as I did, reacquainting myself with those treasures that make Nassau the wondrous place it is.