The Dockyard, with its Bermuda Maritime Museum, is the number-one tourist attraction on Bermuda. Even if you plan to spend all your precious Bermuda time on the pink sandy beaches, try to schedule at least a half-day to check it out.
The Royal Naval Dockyard has been transformed into a park, with Victorian street lighting and a Terrace Pavilion and bandstand for concerts. When the Bermudian government bought this dockyard, which had been on British Admiralty land, in 1953, it marked the end of British naval might in the western Atlantic. A multimillion-dollar cruise-ship dock has been built and a tourist village has emerged; today, vendors push carts filled with food, dry goods, and local crafts. There's a full-service marina with floating docks, a clubhouse, and showers. The area also houses the Bermuda Maritime Museum, the Neptune Theatre, the Crafts Market, and the Bermuda Arts Centre. Closed Good Friday and Christmas Day. Call the Visitors Service Bureau for more information (tel. 441/234-3824).
$4 for adults, $1 for children 5-15; free for children under 5.Ferries from the City of Hamilton stop at Ireland Island, at the western end of Bermuda, once each hour 7am-6pm. The fare is $4 each way. Buses (no. 7 or 8) leave the City of Hamilton for the Royal Naval Dockyard Mon-Sat every 15 min. from 6:45am-11:45pm.Drivers accept this bus fare in coins only.
