Nassau · BS

Balcony House Museum

On Market Street in the heart of downtown Nassau stands the oldest surviving wooden house in The Bahamas: Balcony House, a roughly 220-year-old Loyalist-era residence whose free-standing timber balcony—held up by curving knee braces—gives the building its name. Now a period museum, it lets you step inside two and a half centuries of Bahamian history, from the arrival of the Loyalists to the rise of pioneering political figures, and it's a rare, intimate counterpoint to the beach-and-resort image of the islands. Restored and run in partnership between the Central Bank of The Bahamas and the Antiquities Monuments & Museums Corporation, the house is displayed as a furnished period home with stately pieces and unique objects, and rotating exhibitions weave its documents and artifacts together with works drawn from the Bank's art collection. Admission is free, the setting is small and walkable, and the adjacent former outdoor kitchen has been reborn as a welcoming Teahouse Café—making this an easy, rewarding half-hour stop on a day of exploring Nassau.