Queen's Staircase — Attraction in New Providence

You can walk to this incredible, historic landmark from the cruise port. This is a free location, and there are opportunities to pay or tip for the history lesson from a local. There are restrooms at the bottom with a few folks hanging out that are likely asking for tips to use the facilities as well. There was a gentleman that we met at the top of the stairs that gave us the story and took our picture using one of our phones. You can find him on others' videos on YouTube. Cliff note version of the history - The carved steps and pathway were built for access to the fort in the late 18th century. After Queen Victoria freed the slaves on the island in the 19th century, they honored her by naming the staircase after her. It's a bit like an immersive art experience to walk through. Feels like a sense of abandonment, that nature is really trying to overgrow the place. There are remnants of what it used to be (symmetric holes on the sides that make you think beams or platforms were there at some point, empty water reservoirs with sump/drainage mechanisms that are currently dry). The place provides a respite from the heat and sun due to the lush foliage overhead. This is not a handicap friendly area. At the bottom, it's doubtful that scooters or wheelchairs can find a smooth entry near the guardrail at the south end of Elizabeth and Sands intersection, near the hospital. This is because the ground and curbing is uneven and other objects make it a squeeze at the guardrail. Otherwise, the pavement is beautifully smooth right up to the bottom step. At the top of the staircase, you have about 50 sq ft of space to get out of the high tourist traffic (buses, cars, taxis). And you can basically see from there that it's just a really tall staircase, not much else. The real sense of the place is from taking the stairs and from the atmosphere on the lower end. How to walk there - the taxi drivers were really on the rude side at the port and would not negotiate at all (except for more). Four of us wanted a ride up the hill to be dropped off at Ft Fincastle. It's a 1.4 km drive and 1.1 km walk. They wanted 40 USD. It was worth 20 USD to me due to lack of knowledge and a member of the party with a knee injury, but that negotiation went the wrong way (always insist on understanding between parties that 20 USD total means 5 dollars each, not 80 USD total). So we walked instead. The walk was easy, safe enough, and took less than 12 minutes, including stops for photos along the way. Due to said knee injury (no crutches, just sore from a fall), we walked the streets to the top so that we could take the steps down. Here is the 1.1 km path chosen - From cruise port head south into town away from ships, go LEFT heading east on Bay Street to the Bacardi bldg, go RIGHT heading south on East St...go past USA embassy (slightly up hill), go LEFT heading east on Prison Lane, go LEFT on Greenwhich St and the top of the Queens Staircase will come into sight on the right hand of the road. Safety note - sidewalks are either uneven, narrow at best or non-existent. You will be in the roadway sometimes, as the locals also do. Not very busy roads, but the do drive English (left side) as opposed to Continental (right side). Therefore, wouldn't recommend the walk for kids under 10. And you will be in one neighborhood, your sincere politeness goes a long way. From the bottom of the staircase it was an easy 12 minute walk into the center of the touristy part of town for Pirate museum and...

This place was the highlight for visiting Bahamas. After visiting this island several times because of cruising, we decided to venture the town a bit. Seeing that the Queen's Staircase was 0.6 mile from the cruise port, I thought it was doable. The Google map leads you to the top of the stairs entrance. The worker stood at the gate indicating that they were closed. People formed a line as if they were waiting to get in. I did not understand the line and I went up and asked the man. I heard it was closed. Something was closed. There were signs that some things like the water tower was under construction. Honestly, I did not fully understand what he said because of his accent, but he asked, are you going to just walk straight through. Yes, I said... not knowing what that even meant but I was ready to leave the place. He opened the gate a bit for my family to walk through. The rest of the people remained behind. Honestly, I don't know what these people were waiting for in their line.

Upon passing the gate and seeing the staircase, it was like another world. Picture worthy! Not sure if my video will upload but you have to see to believe. Go and visit this place. We thought it was worthy it!

FYI - at the bottom of the stairs where we exited, people tried to come in. The gate and the worker stopped them. I am guessing the walk through is one way. You must enter through the top to walk down. No one tried to walk up. If you can make it to the top of the hill, you can walk down. But elderly might struggle to walk up the stairs....

Sitting atop Bennett (and Society) Hill(s), at 216 feet above sea-level, it is the equivalent of climbing 20 stories.

The area is so beautiful, cozy, picturesque, verdant, poetic, romantic, and so on... that it is easy to forget how things were when it was built and the hardships faced by those 600+ enslaved people who carved it out of the limestone.

Once at the top, walk around Fort Fincastle or visit it, if it's opened. It's a great vista from which to see the old part of the city, the port, Paradise Island (formerly known as Hog Island) and the beautiful Atlantis resort... and the "U.S. Embassy in the Bahamas"; A monolithic Big Box with fins, to protect from the sun and onlookers, that was designed by Ennead Architects.

Read "Prime Minister Philip Davis’s Remarks at the Rededication of the Queen’s Staircase" from April 2024 - https://opm.gov.bs/prime-minister-davis-queens-staircase-rededication/ - where he talks of ‘Blueprint for Change’.

"It incentivises Bahamian-owned ventures, and foregrounds Bahamian culture. It also recognises the importance of heritage tourism (...)" (...) "My friends, as a nation blessed with a storied past, we stand to gain so much from a new era of heritage tourism. Here we have the sixty-six steps, but I can easily name sixty-six more historical sights on the island of New...