In the Céramique district, you still feel the industrial past, even though you’re standing in the newest and most modern part of the city. It’s the kind of place where you look up and keep looking, to take in the impressive architecture, even as the ground around you buzzes with culture and activity. Céramique arose in the early 1990s on the site of ‘Société Céramique,’ a ceramics factory that operated from 1850 to 1985, best known for its tableware. When the factory was offered for sale to the municipality in the late 1980s, the idea to redevelop the area as a quality residential and commercial district quickly emerged, and Government Architect Jo Coenen was engaged to develop a master plan. One of his fundamental premises was to bring something of a Mediterranean feel to this part of the city. To achieve this, he brought in luminary architects from southern Europe for the design of the various residential and business complexes. The result is a total package of architectural high point after high point, like Mario Botta’s ‘La Fortezza,’ Alvaro Siza’s ‘Tower of Siza,’ and perhaps the crowning glory, Aldo Rossi’s Bonnefanten Museum. But despite all the forward-looking architecture, the connection to the past remains, in the street names, remnants of older buildings and tableware that turn up unexpectedly, and the exhibitions in the Bonnefanten Museum and Centre Céramique. Each and every one is a golden thread of history interwoven into the fabric of today.

Broadwater Parklands is the place to go for picnics, barbecue and promenades. Here you can also take a soothing bath or fish from the pier. For kids, there is the Rockpools water playground, jumping pillows and a playground at the southern end of the park.

The capital city of St Thomas — Charlotte Amalie — only about 10 minutes away from both It will take you about 10 minutes to reach downtown from the Havensight cruise pier and Crown Bay Marina. Take a stroll down the cobbled alleyways, climb the steep stairs for glorious views and admire West Indian furnishings in historic homes. Since its founding by Danish settlers in 1681, the town has evolved from a colonial trading post to one of the busiest duty free ports in the Caribbean.

Known as the oldest Lutheran Church in the Americas, the Fredrick Lutheran Church was established in 1666 by Danish minister and coloniser, Kjeld Jensen. The yellow Georgian style building with its large staircase that you can visit today was opened in 1793. The earlier two buildings that were, unfortunately, destroyed by fire.