Belize City
The hidden charms of Belize’s largest and inimitably ramshackle city are all in its non-stop street life: chaotic but laid-back, and unmistakably Caribbean.
Main Attractions
Unlike the debauched pirate town of Port Royal in Jamaica, which fell into the sea following an earthquake, Belize City 1 [map], which was equally uninhibited in its buccaneer heyday, was literally raised from the sea on top of empty rum bottles. Built on a swamp, divided in two by the Haulover Creek, and surrounded on three sides by the Caribbean Sea, Belize City often seems to be more water than land and is fighting an ongoing battle against drowning – fortunes are spent every year keeping it out of the mud. Yet its 75,000-strong population, drawn from just about every ethnic group under the sun, manages to keep the city afloat, combining to create a metropolis all of its own.
History
The city was founded in the early 1700s by British “Baymen” – former pirates who had settled in the Bay of Honduras in the 17th century . The Baymen made their first Belizean settlement on St George’s Caye, a few miles off the coast of Belize, succeeded by a settlement at the mouth of the Belize River, which developed into Belize City, the country’s commercial capital. The city grew with the development of the timber trade – first logwood, which grew nearer the coast, and then mahogany, found farther inland.
Belize City was the country’s capital until another in a regular series of devastating hurricanes in 1961 killed hundreds of people and flattened many of its buildings. The seat of government was subsequently moved inland to a purpose-built site at Belmopan.
Visitors usually only stay in the city begrudgingly, put off by its bad reputation and neglected appearance. Yet Belize City is worth a visit, if only for a day or two. It remains the commercial and cultural center of the country, and has some excellent museums covering the country’s rich marine ecology and archeology. Throughout a turbulent history of hurricanes, floods, fires, disease, and violence, the capital has retained a distinctive Caribbean charm.
The city center
At the heart of the city is the Swing Bridge A [map], the busiest crossing point across Haulover Creek, so named because cows and other large objects had to be hauled over the creek by the original settlers. The Swing Bridge is the world’s oldest operational manual swing bridge, assembled in 1923 from parts shipped from Liverpool, England. Once cranked open every morning and evening so tall boats could sail up the river, it is now only opened by special request. Adjacent to the bridge, on the east side of the creek, is the Marine Terminal, from which speedboats depart regularly, taking passengers to the cayes. A short walk east of the Marine Terminal is the riverside Image Factory B [map] (tel: 223 1149; www.imagefactorybelize.com; Mon–Fri 9am–5pm; free), at 91 North Front Street, an art gallery run by Yasser Musa, a popular Belizean artist and poet. The gallery is worth checking out as it often runs shows by some of Belize’s most talented modern artists, who sometimes drop in and are glad to discuss their work. There’s a great gift shop selling art, books, and Belizean music CDs here too.
Schoolchildren looking at the stamp collection in the Museum of Belize.
Corrie Wingate
The Museum of Belize C [map] (Mon–Thur 8.30am–5pm, Fri 8.30am–4.30pm; charge), to the north on Gaol Lane at its corner with Gabourel Lane (in the Central Bank Compound), is housed in a former prison building. The brick structure dates to the early 19th century and was Belize’s only correctional facility until as recently as 1993. One of the original prison cells has been preserved as part of the restoration, and there are displays with photographs of the gallows used for hanging people convicted of capital offenses.
TIP
Belize City has a high crime rate and parts of the city are affected by gang culture. There is little risk during daylight hours, but it is wise to keep valuables out of sight. Take taxis after dark.
The museum contains two permanent exhibitions: a collection of artifacts found at ancient Maya sites throughout the country and a historical tour of Belize City, featuring old photographs of the town showing the ravages of the 1931 and 1961 hurricanes, as well as various antiques. There is also an extensive collection of preserved insects and butterflies, old coins and bottles, and antiques, and a display of Belizean stamps.
Crossing the world’s oldest operational swing bridge.
Corrie Wingate
Colonial quarter
South of here down Marine Parade Boulevard is Memorial Park D [map], in a pretty seafront location, amidst a cluster of grand edifices. The park, with its stage and bandstand, has been at the center of many historic occasions. Music concerts and other events are held here, especially during the September holiday period. The surrounding wooden colonial buildings, including the former Mexican Embassy building, contribute to make this the city’s most graceful quarter.
EAT
The upstairs restaurant of the Chateau Caribbean Hotel, facing Memorial Park, is one of the best places in the city for a sea view. The restaurant serves an interesting mix of Chinese and Caribbean food and the fresh seafood is excellent.
Another elegant mansion nearby is the Chateau Caribbean Hotel, at 6 Marine Parade, on the seafront side of Memorial Park. This former hospital, which stands in contrast to the towering modern opulence of the neighboring Radisson Fort George Hotel, was the favorite haunt of Harrison Ford during the shooting of the 1986 movie The Mosquito Coast.
Fishing off the sea wall by the Fort George Lighthouse that marks the spot of the Baron Bliss memorial.
Corrie Wingate
The Bountiful Baron Bliss
Visiting Belize in 1926 in order to recuperate from a serious bout of food poisoning caught in Trinidad, Henry Edward Ernest Victor Bliss, a wealthy businessman and sailor from Buckinghamshire, England, with a Portuguese title, discovered a passion for the country that kept him here for the rest of his life.
He spent several months in Belize’s coastal waters, living aboard his yacht, the Sea King, fishing and hoping for his health to improve, while enjoying the calm, unspoiled surroundings and Belizean hospitality.
However, his health eventually failed him, and on March 9, 1927, he died peacefully aboard his yacht. So impressed had the baron been by the beauty of the Belizean coast and cayes, and the kindness shown to him by the people during these difficult months, that he left in his will a trust fund of US$2 million established for the benefit of the people of Belize. This became the Bliss Trust.
Without once being well enough to step ashore, the baron endowed the people of Belize with a legacy from which health clinics, libraries, and museums continue to benefit, and the Bliss School of Nursing was created. In recognition of this generosity, March 9, the anniversary of his death, is a national holiday celebrated every year with a regatta in the harbor.
The harbor entrance
A few blocks south of Memorial Park brings you to where the Fort George Lighthouse dominates the sea wall at the entrance to the harbor. Beneath the lighthouse, the Baron Bliss Memorial E [map] commemorates a wealthy British yachtsman and fisherman who fell in love with Belize from the sea and became its generous benefactor.
Down the street from the Baron Bliss Memorial and commanding a large strip of land along the harbor entrance is the Tourism Village, a terminal for arriving cruise-ship passengers lined with small gift and duty-free shops and restaurants. However, access is restricted to people with valid ship passes.
Sailing boats in Belize harbor.
Corrie Wingate
Dozens of tour companies and taxis operate just outside the village and provide package tours or trips to Belize Zoo, Altun Há, Community Baboon Sanctuary, and other destinations in the Belize or Cayo districts. Be sure to negotiate fares and prices of trips before setting off. All tour guides are required to have certification from the Tourism Board, so ask to see their credentials.
South of the river
Across the Swing Bridge, pedestrians, cyclists, and cars fight noisily for space along the narrow streets and walkways which characterize the Southside. This part of town is regularly gridlocked – when the offices and shops open and shut at 8am and 5pm, and at either end of the lunch hour. Lunch is the big meal of the day, so don’t expect anything to be open between noon and 1pm.
Downstairs at the modern Municipal Market F [map] (officially the Commercial Center), at the foot of the Swing Bridge, the stubborn survivors of the site’s old market, which was dismantled and taken away, remain to give the place its character. Here, at the popular Big Daddy’s Diner, there’s rice and beans and cow foot soup. Downstairs are shops and fruit stalls, as well as a range of bush medicines, including the ever-popular cleansing bitters.
A couple of blocks south down Regent Street is Belize’s Supreme Court G [map]. With its elaborate wrought ironwork capped off by the town clock, the building is a reconstruction of the wooden original destroyed by fire in 1926. Next to the Supreme Court, the Treasury Building marks the commercial center of town, where most of the banks, as well as Belize’s only department store, Brodie’s, are located.
Behind the Supreme Court and Treasury, the walk along the Southern Foreshore beside the river gives the best view of the harbor, and has a boat service to the cayes from Court House Wharf. The very modern Bliss Center for the Performing Arts H [map] (known as the Bliss Institute) at 2 Southern Foreshore is Belize’s main cultural venue and home to the National Arts Council. You can see a good range of theater productions here. The institute also houses the National Art Collection (Mon–Fri 8.30–noon, 2–8pm; charge).
St John’s Cathedral.
Jane Sweeney / AWL Images Ltd
House of Culture
At the end of Regent Street, in an idyllic seashore setting, is the House of Culture I [map] (formerly Government House), the city’s grandest building, with its wide, sweeping staircases and paneled oak interior (Mon–Sat 9am–4pm; free). After independence in 1981, the governor general, the Crown’s representative in Belize, moved to Belmopan. In 1996 Government House was converted into a museum and renamed the House of Culture. The museum’s displays include collections of silver and glassware and colonial furniture, and the house’s beautiful gardens are a haven for birds. Opposite Government House, on Albert Street, St John’s Cathedral J [map] is the oldest Anglican cathedral in Central America (daily 6am–6pm; free). It was built by slaves in the 1800s from English bricks brought to Belize as ballast. St John’s competes with the Holy Redeemer Catholic Church on North Front Street as the dominant place of worship.
Yarborough
To the west of St John’s Cathedral is Yarborough, once a wealthy neighborhood, but now the gateway into the poorer parts of town, where it is wise not to wander off alone. Running along the Southside Canal, just west of the cathedral, Yarborough Cemetery K [map] is famous for tales of old Belize now secreted away in the illegible inscriptions of headstones dating from centuries past. Named for the magistrate James Yarborough, who owned the land, it was used as a cemetery between 1781 and 1882, first as a burial ground for the colony’s prominent personages and later opened up to the masses. Close by the cemetery is a statue of Belize’s first self-made millionaire, Emmanuel Isaiah Morter, a follower of Marcus Garvey and owner of much of Barracks Road, who left a great deal of his fortune to the United Negro Improvement Association. The monument also marks the entrance to what was Eboe Town in the 19th century.
TIP
The newer areas of Belize City are more spread out, and you would be advised to take a car to visit them. Taking a taxi ride can be quite an adventure here with the cabs racing through the streets, narrowly missing pedestrians, and rocketing across bridges. (On the plus side, cab drivers – as everywhere – like talking and can be a good source of recommendations for the latest restaurants and sightseeing.)
Further attractions
Newtown Barracks, a short taxi ride north from the city center, is the place to enjoy some sea breeze after the heat and hustle of downtown, with a good selection of parks, restaurants, and nightclubs. To get acquainted with things Mexican before journeying north, it is worth looking in at the Mexico-Belize Cultural Institute L [map], which often has art and photographic exhibitions featuring Mexican culture and traditional Mexican music concerts. It is open daily 8am–5pm and entrance is usually free, except for certain events such as concerts, when a ticket may need to be purchased in advance.
A drive past the Newtown Barracks, which eventually become Princess Margaret Drive, takes you past the Marion Jones Sports Complex M [map], a sports arena built by the Marylebone Cricket Club of Great Britain and where all the big cricket matches were once played. Today, cricket is rarely played here and soccer has taken over as the crowd-pulling Sunday afternoon event. The stadium is also sometimes used for concerts or cultural events.
The King’s Park area around Princess Margaret Drive is where the more prosperous Belizeans live and where many of the city’s schools are located, including St John’s College, established by Jesuits in 1887. The exclusive Belize Pickwick Club is a members-only sporting facility with tennis courts and one of the city’s few swimming pools.
Old Belize
Lying 8km (5 miles) southwest of the city is the Old Belize Cultural and Historical Center at Cucumber Beach Marina (tel: 222 4129; www.oldbelize.com; charge), which has an exhibit detailing the history of the country. Visitors enter through a mahogany tree, the national tree of Belize and vitally important to the early development of the settlement. In turn you visit a rainforest, a Maya village, a logging camp complete with steam engine, used for hauling logs, a chiclero camp, and a sugar mill. The highlight is an authentic-looking reconstruction of an early 20th-century street in Belize City. There is also a short zipline tour, where you are clipped into a harness and whizz 65ft (20 meters) above the beach and the sea.
Belize Zoo
There is one place in Belize where you can be sure of seeing scarlet macaws, jaguars, or a Baird’s tapir in a natural setting.
Belize Zoo (www.belizezoo.org; daily 8am–4.30pm; charge) is an oasis of ponds, forests, and flowers among the sprawling savannas 29 miles (47km) west of Belize City. More than 60 indigenous Belizean animals live here in large, natural enclosures.
Around midday, many of the animals slumber, and are difficult to see through the dense green foliage. If you can, try to visit the zoo first thing or late in the afternoon.
You will often feel that you are in the forest, peering through a tangle of vines and shrubs to catch a glimpse of a puma, jaguarundi, or ocelot. Patience and persistence are necessary to view the creatures here, but your patience will be rewarded: a glimpse of a jaguar staking out his dominion, time in the company of curious and lively kinkajous, or eye-to-eye contact with the towering jabirú stork. Other star attractions include a pair of harpy eagles, the largest eagles in the world, which are nearly extinct in Central America. They are an awesome sight, and of great conservation importance: Panama, the male, is father to several fledglings reintroduced to Belize.
There’s also a reptile area where you can see Belizeans snakes including the very venomous fer-de-lance and the boa constrictor. The Belize Zoo education programs concentrate on informing visitors about snakes and their beneficial role in the ecosystem, helping to control rats and other rodents.
The animals and grounds are meticulously cared for, and fun signs spell out the natural habits of each animal and its endangered status, reminding visitors that “Belize is my home too!”. Raised gravel paths lead from exhibit to exhibit through natural savanna and pine ridge vegetation, as well as transplanted rainforest. Belize Zoo is as much a botanical garden as it is a zoo, and it is a focal point for environmental awareness in Belize. It operates on strict environmentally friendly principles, with composting and lots of recycling.
Sharon Matola, the North American founder and driving force behind the zoo, arrived in Belize after a colorful career that included time as a lion-tamer in Romania and on a circus tour in Mexico. She started the zoo to provide a home for animals that were used in a wildlife documentary she worked on. Today the focus of the zoo is on research and conservation – with projects that range from educating schoolchildren about harpy eagles to organizing a national day for the tapir.
Belize Zoo now covers 30 acres (12 hectares), and is part of a larger complex that includes a Tropical Education and Research Center; you can stay here, too, in the Belize Zoo Jungle Lodge (tel: 822 8000), which includes an unmissable night tour of the zoo. As many animals are nocturnal, including wild cats and most mammals, you have a good chance of observing them at their most active.
The jaguar, Central America’s largest and most elusive wild cat.
Corrie Wingate