St. George'sCapital
Grenada · Country profile
St Georges is the beautiful harbour city capital of Grenada, the spiced island of the eastern Caribbean whose horseshoe-shaped bay, its pastel houses crowded up the green volcanic hills and its ruined and working forts make one of the loveliest anchorages of the West Indies. The town climbs the slopes around the inner harbour of the Carenage, where the fishing boats and the yachts sit below the red roofs, the old fortress and the grey stone of the colonial warehouses, and the modern life works around the market, the spice shops and the waterfront. The whole island world of Grenada, the nutmeg and the cocoa of the interior, the white-sand beaches of the southwest, the rainforest waterfalls and the famous underwater sculpture park of the coast, hangs on the doorstep of this compact capital. The warmth of the welcome, the spice in the air and the postcard calm of the harbour frame the stay, as the guidebooks repeat and the first-timers quickly discover. Colourful, friendly and utterly idyllic in its setting, St Georges is the sweetest capital of the southern islands of the Caribbean.
About St. George's
St. George's is the capital of Grenada. The city's documented population is around 33,286 people. For visitors from abroad, the local currency is the East Caribbean Dollar (XCD) and English is spoken; the dialling code is +1473.
The Fort of the George and the Harbour of the Carenage
The town runs around its horseshoe bay, so the essential day moves between the Carenage with its boats and its waterfront restaurants, the market square with its spices and its produce, the forts on their hills with their cannon and their harbour views, and the museums of the town in the old buildings of the colonial era. The great beaches of the southwest, the rainforest trails and the waterfalls of the interior, the cocoa and the nutmeg plantations and the famous underwater sculpture park off the coast fill the excursions. Everything in the town sits within a walk or a short taxi hop, and the local minibuses run the coastal and the inland routes, so the little capital works as the natural base for exploring all of Grenada.
The Waterfalls of the Interior and the Ruins of the Plantations
The weather sits in the classic eastern Caribbean pattern, with the warm trade-wind year, the small difference between the seasons, the drier first months of the year and the hurricane watch of the late summer and the autumn. The dollar of the eastern Caribbean is the currency, the English the language, and the roads of the island climb steeply and wind tightly, so a driver confident on the left-hand side of the road and a sturdy pair of walking shoes serve every plan. The weekly Saturday market, the forts and the beaches make the core visits, and modest cover for the churches and the town and cash for the small shops and the stalls complete the simple preparation for this bay-side capital.
The Sculptures of the Underwater and the Beach of the Grand Anse
The fort of the George on the headland of the Carenage, built by the French in the eighteenth century and named for the British king, still dominates the harbour approaches and rewards the climb with the classic view over the bay and the town, while the fort of the Frederick of the hill above holds the small museum of the island and looks out to sea on both sides of the narrow land. The market of the town bursts with the nutmeg, the mace and the cocoa of the island, and the famous scents of the spice trade hang about the harbour, while the beach of the Grand Anse with its long curve of soft sand waits just south of the centre, the waterfalls of the Concord and the Seven Sisters plunge through the rainforest of the interior, and the dramatic sculpture park of the coast, the wreck of the Molinere reef with its figures on the sea floor, draws the divers and the snorkellers of the world. Historic, aromatic and framed by one of the prettiest harbours of the Caribbean, St Georges is the gracious heart of the island of spice.
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- Country
- Grenada
- Population
- 33,286
- Capital
- St. George's
- Region
- North America
- Currency
- East Caribbean Dollar (XCD)
- Languages
- English
- Calling code
- +1473
- Country code
- GD
Frequently asked questions
Is St. George's the capital of Grenada?
Yes — St. George's is the capital of Grenada.
What currency do I need in St. George's?
The local currency is the East Caribbean Dollar (XCD). Languages spoken in Grenada include English.
What is the dialling code for Grenada?
The international dialling code for Grenada is +1473.
Flying out of St. George's? Check the entry requirements for your destination in our entry requirements tool before you fly.