Goldwynn Resort & Residences

Worth getting out of bed for

Finally ready to tear yourself away from the pool and the spa? Make sugar-white Cable Beach your first stop (it's on your doorstep after all). Grab a lounger and spend the day tracking the light as it shifts across the sand; or get active – the hotel can arrange all kinds of beach-bound pursuits, from paddleboarding and snorkelling to kayaking and beach yoga. Next, get to know your surroundings with a Bahamian art and food tour, or rent a bike and do it yourself. The National Art Gallery in the Bahamas is housed in a historic stately home and offers a unique look at Bahamian history and culture through the art of its people. It’s also home to its own Art Park, a native forest filled with sculptures and indigenous flora. Downtown, you’ll find picturesque, pastel-hued architecture, colourful murals and historic monuments. Don’t miss Nassau straw market, where you can catch local artisans hard at work, or Queens Staircase, a 31-metre flight of limestone steps leading to Fort Fincastle and its sweeping views. The fort was built in 1793 to protect against pirates, which you can learn more about at the Pirates of Nassau Museum – kids will love the replica pirate ship and Jack Sparrow-esque hosts. Blue Lagoon Island offers close up encounters with dolphins and sea lions, while those in search of wilder encounters should head to Coral Harbour to spend the day among sharks and shipwrecks with dive instructor Stuart Cove. And, if you’re around during the festive season, make a Boxing Day beeline to Bay Street for the colourful seasonal parade of Junkanoo.

Local restaurants

There’s no shortage of great food in Nassau, renowned for its Arawak Cay Fish Fry Strip, where rows of colourful beach shacks, and hand-painted bars dish out tropical conch salads and heaped plates of rice and peas. But it’s also home to a host of top-tier dining spots equally worthy of a visit. Café Matisse is one of them, a pink palazzo of pasta and pizza. This Italian spot serves classic boot-hailing fare (carpaccio, risotto, parmigiana: you name it) alongside a rotating list of Caribbean-inspired specials. For something classically Bahamian however, you can’t do much better than Bahamian Cookin’, an unpretentious downtown restaurant owned by three generations of local women who have been fine-tuning their recipes for decades.

Local cafés

If the fish fry’s not for you, Le Petit Gourmet café just might be. At this vegetarian spot, you can start the day with gooey cookies, French toast topped with cinnamon panko and indulgently buttery croissants. Otherwise, check-out Louis & Steen’s, where the vibrant spirit of the Big Easy can be found in single-origin pours and Cajun-Creole inspired lunches.

Local bars

While Nassau is a popular spring-break spot, you’d never know it at the art deco-style Jazz Bar of the Grand Hyatt Baha Mar which summons the glamour of the roaring twenties with a white, grand piano, bow-tied bartenders and honey-voiced crooners. Channel your inner Zelda Fitzgerald with a classic martini. It’s a little more rustic at Bahama Barrels – inside, at least. Outside, its Heritage Village façade is painted lime green and a terrace is peppered with rainbow-coloured seating. It’s also home to the Bahamas’ first ever winery – well, kind of – for instead of making its own wines the traditional way, Barrels blends different international wines to make original new tipples. Hey, don’t knock it till you’ve tried it.