Located 650 miles east off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, Bermuda isn't technically part of the Caribbean – but we don't hold that against the island. Its West Indian flair and British colonial heritage imbue a delicious island flavor to the Atlantic escape.
Travelers who have yet to visit likely only know of Bermuda main island, 22-square-mile St. George's. But Bermuda is actually comprised of 181 small islands and cays divided into parishes (counties). The capital city, Hamilton, was once known as the "show window of the British Empire" and was home to literary figures Mark Twain and Eugene O'Neill who both chose it for its beauty. Incorporated in 1793, Hamilton encompasses just 182 acres, so most visitors explore it on foot. Good thing, too, because visitors aren't allowed to rent cars in Bermuda. Mopeds, bicycles and the "shoe-leather express" are the preferred method of transportation.
SHOPPING, DINING AND NIGHTLIFE
While the city does have some worthwhile attractions – Fort Hamilton, the Bermuda Historical Society Museum, the Bermuda National Gallery and 12 churches – it's far more notable for its shopping, dining and drinking. Front Street's restaurants run the range of prices, and there are many English-style watering holes for a traditional pub crawl. It's also packed with elegant stores offering high-quality goods from the U.K.
Other British imports include afternoon tea, a conservative bent that has kept the islands clean and proper, and of course, golf.
BEACHES AND WATER SPORTS
Bermuda is also notable for its pink beaches, its tradition in the arts and - of course - those funky Bermuda shorts. The island offers some excellent scuba diving on hundreds of wreck downed on its massive reefs, but its limited diving season has kept it from becoming a true bubble-blowing mecca.
HISTORY
Europeans first spotted Bermuda in 1503. Spanish sea captain Juan de Bermúdez, for whom the islands were later named, identified the island group but failed to lay claim. In 1609 English Admiral Sir George Somers, after wrecking his ship on Bermuda's reef, claimed the island for Britain. In 1612 the Virginia Company organized 60 settlers to establish a permanent colony on the islands. In 1684 Bermuda became a British crown colony. Hamilton, because of its central location and its large, protected harbor, replaced St. George as the island's capital in 1815 and has remained so ever since.
By 1900, Bermuda was well on its way to becoming a fashionable winter escape for the moneyed class, who flocked aboard steamers crossing regularly from New York to Hamilton.
During WWII Bermuda's location made it strategically significant to Allied operations and the British signed a 99-year lease handing over substantial portions of Bermuda's territory to the U.S. military, which constructed an air base on St David's Island where the international airport is now located. The island's parliamentarians united in 1968 to produce a constitution that provided Bermuda full internal self government, while leaving security, defense and diplomatic affairs to Britain.
DON'T MISS
– Investigating the Bermuda Maritime Museum, which is housed in a 19th-century fortress at the Royal Naval Dockyard.
– Sun worshipping on Elbow Beach in Paget Parish
– Shopping for Bermuda's hallmark shorts in downtown Hamilton
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