The Old Market
A red fountain and crafts.
giggel — CC BY 3.0 · Pabernosmatao — CC0 · Balou46 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Aneil Lutchman — CC BY-SA 2.0 · giggel — CC BY 3.0 · giggel — CC BY 3.0
Roseau is the capital and largest town of Dominica, a small, compact place on the west coast between the Caribbean Sea, the Roseau River and the hill of Morne Bruce. Wooden and stone houses with French and colonial balconies line narrow streets, with green mountains behind, and about 15,000 people live here. The town stands on the site of an old village of the first peoples called Sairi. The French named it after the reeds, roseaux, that grew along the river. They laid out its streets on the model of French towns, running out from a central point that is today the Old Market. It is the island's main trading port, shipping bananas, citrus and cocoa. You start at the Old Market, a paved square with a red fountain and craft stalls, then walk the bayfront past cruise ships at the pier. You wander the old streets among painted wooden houses. Morne Bruce hill above the town gives a wide view over the town and sea. The Old Market is in central Roseau, 800 m from the Botanic Gardens. Walking is free. On cruise-ship days the streets get crowded, so keep your belongings safe.
A red fountain and crafts.
Ships and the pier.
Painted balconies.
Old Market and Bayfront, central Roseau, Dominica
From Morne Bruce hill above town.
On cruise-ship days.
