Bridgetown

The city of Bridgetown is the capital and largest city of the nation of Barbados. It was called the Town of Saint Michael. It is in the parish of Saint Michael. Bridgetown is sometimes locally called "The City", but more common is simply "Town".

Bridgetown
City
Chamberlain Bridge spanning the Careenage, Bridgetown
Seal
Location of Bridgetown (red star)
Coordinates: 13°06′21″N 59°36′47″W[1]
Country	Barbados
Parish	Saint Michael
Established	1628
Area
• Total	15 sq mi (40 km2)
Elevation [2]	3 ft (1 m)
Population  (2006)
• Total	96,578
• Density	6,400/sq mi (2,500/km2)
Time zone	UTC-4 (Eastern Caribbean Time Zone)
Area code	246

The Bridgetown port, found along Carlisle Bay, is on the southwestern coast of the island. The Grantley Adams International Airport for Barbados, is 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) southeast of Bridgetown city centre.

The present day location of the city was set by English settlers in 1628. This was after settlement at St. James Town. Bridgetown is a major West Indies tourist destination. On 25 June 2011, Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison were added as a World Heritage Site of UNESCO.^[3][4][5]

Bridgetown is the only city outside continental North America that George Washington visited.

English settlement of Bridgetown began on 5 July 1628^[6] under Charles Wolverstone.

Climate

Climate data for Bridgetown (1981–2010)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C (°F)	28.8 (83.8)	29.0 (84.2)	29.5 (85.1)	30.0 (86.0)	30.5 (86.9)	30.5 (86.9)	30.4 (86.7)	30.6 (87.1)	30.6 (87.1)	30.4 (86.7)	30.0 (86.0)	29.3 (84.7)	30.0 (86.0)
Daily mean °C (°F)	25.8 (78.4)	25.7 (78.3)	26.2 (79.2)	26.8 (80.2)	27.6 (81.7)	27.7 (81.9)	27.6 (81.7)	27.8 (82.0)	27.7 (81.9)	27.5 (81.5)	27.0 (80.6)	26.4 (79.5)	27.0 (80.6)
Average low °C (°F)	22.9 (73.2)	22.8 (73.0)	23.2 (73.8)	24.1 (75.4)	24.9 (76.8)	25.1 (77.2)	24.9 (76.8)	24.7 (76.5)	24.6 (76.3)	24.5 (76.1)	24.2 (75.6)	23.6 (74.5)	24.1 (75.4)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	70.1 (2.76)	41.3 (1.63)	37.4 (1.47)	60.8 (2.39)	79.0 (3.11)	103.0 (4.06)	132.9 (5.23)	141.9 (5.59)	157.6 (6.20)	185.1 (7.29)	171.6 (6.76)	89.6 (3.53)	1,270.3 (50.01)
Average precipitation days	11	8	8	8	8	11	15	15	14	16	14	12	140
Mean monthly sunshine hours	258.85	249.45	272.80	259.80	262.88	225.00	251.41	263.19	230.40	233.74	228.00	257.92	2,993.44
Mean daily sunshine hours	8.35	8.83	8.80	8.66	8.48	7.50	8.11	8.49	7.68	7.54	7.60	8.32	8.20
Source: Barbados Meteorological Services[7]