Just north of the Careenage (the inlet in the city centre), the city’s two principal shopping streets run roughly parallel. Although less than a hundred metres separates them, they are worlds apart.

Broad Street is the main thoroughfare. Here, a few fine colonial buildings catch the eye – notably the glorious pink Colonnade (below) and the majestic grey Mutual Life building (above). Amid the more generic shop fronts, a sprinkling of duty-free shops are aimed firmly at luring foreign (especially cruise-ship) customers into their stores.

Midway along the street is Bridgetown Duty Free (formerly Cave Shepherd), Barbados’ only real department store, established over a century ago, in 1906. Across the street, Collins Pharmacy dates back even further, to 1888. A real Aladdin’s cave, it’s worth peeking inside.