Although few people make the trip into Bridgetown specifically to eat , there are a couple of excellent restaurants that open in the evening, and the city has some of the island's best venues for nightlife - several of them with stages right on the beach. If you're in town at night drinking or clubbing, you might want to check out the late-opening local joints on busy Baxters Road , just north of the town centre, where you can get a plate of food for around B$10.

1627 and All That tel 246/428-1627. Held in the central courtyard of the Barbados Museum (and including a tour of it), 1627 and All That is a slick show that relates, through storytelling and traditional music and dance, the history of the island since the British first landed here. Thurs and Sun 6.30-10pm.

The Boatyard Bay Street tel 246/436-2622. Live bands play by the beach on Tues, Fri and Sun (B$10-25), there's canned music, limbo and fire-eating on Thurs, and, with the DJs spinning records on Sat, a B$35 cover gets you in and all you can drink. 8.30pm-1am.

Brown Sugar Aquatic Gap tel 246/426-7684. Attractive building with iron fretwork and an interior draped with greenery, serving the best seafood in the Garrison area; prices start around B$25. Daily 6-9.30pm.

Harbour Lights tel 246/436-7225. Another nightclub right on the beach that's open nightly but most crowded for the all-you-can-drink beach parties on Mon, Wed and Fri (B$25 entry). 8.30pm-1am.

The Waterfront Café Careenage tel 246/427-0093. Some of the best food in town, with an authentic Caribbean flavour, served indoors or out beside the water. Try the creole snapper (B$35), or, if you're just after a snack, you can get soups and salads. Live music most evenings, normally steel pans (Tues & Wed) and jazz (Fri & Sat), and a buffet dinner on Tues. Mon-Sat noon-3pm & 6-10pm, Sun 6-10pm.