Introduction to New Providence

One million visitors a year have cast their vote: They want to visit New Providence Island, setting for Nassau, adjoining Cable Beach, and Paradise Island. This is the center of all the action: the best shopping, the best entertainment, the most historic attractions -- plus some of the best beaches in The Bahamas.

The capital of The Bahamas, the historic city of Nassau is a 35-minute flight from Miami. Despite the development and the modern hotels, a laid-back tropical atmosphere still pervades the city, and it still offers a good dose of colonial charm. The commercial and banking hub of The Bahamas, as well as a mecca for shoppers, Nassau lies on the north side of New Providence, which is 34km (21 miles) long and 11km (6 3/4 miles) wide at its greatest point.

Cable Beach, a stretch of sand just west of the city, is lined with luxury resorts -- in fact, the Nassau/Cable Beach area has the largest tourist infrastructure in The Bahamas, though there's another concentration of luxury hotels on Paradise Island. If you want to stay right on the sands, don't choose a hotel in downtown Nassau itself. Head for Cable Beach or Paradise Island. You can easily reach the beach from a base in Nassau, but it won't be right outside your window.

When you're based in Nassau/Cable Beach, you have an array of watersports, golf, tennis, and plenty of duty-free shopping nearby -- not to mention those fine powdery beaches. In addition, the resorts, restaurants, and beaches of Paradise Island are just a short distance away. Paradise Island, which lies just opposite Nassau, is connected to New Providence Island by a toll bridge. For northbound traffic (that is, from New Providence Island to Paradise Island), the bridge costs $1 (55p) for cars, $2 (£1.05) for taxis, and is free for pedestrians. Southbound traffic for all vehicles is free. There's also frequent ferry and water-taxi service between Nassau and Paradise Island.

As the sun goes down, Cable Beach and Paradise Island heat up, offering fine dining, glitzy casinos, cabaret shows, moonlight cruises, dance clubs, and romantic evening strolls. (We'd confine the evening stroll to Cable Beach or Paradise Island, and not the streets of downtown Nassau, which can be dangerous at night.)

The shops might draw a lot more business than the museums, but no city in The Bahamas is as rich in history as Nassau. You can take a "royal climb" up the Queen's Staircase to Fort Fincastle. These 66 steps are said to have been cut in the sandstone cliffs by slaves in the 1790s. Other Nassau attractions include Ardastra Gardens, which feature 2 hectares (5 acres) of landscaping and more than 300 exotic birds, mammals, and reptiles. Most popular are the trained pink flamingos that march for audiences daily to their trainer's commands.

It's surprising that Nassau has retained its overlay of British colonial charm despite its proximity to Florida and the massive influx of North American business. It hasn't become completely Americanized, at least not yet; despite new development, traffic, and cruise-ship crowds, Nassau's still a long way from becoming another Miami. Stately old homes and public buildings still stand proudly among the modern high-rises and bland government buildings. Tropical foliage lines streets where horse-drawn surreys still trot by, carrying visitors on leisurely tours. Police officers in white starched jackets and dome-shaped pith helmets still direct traffic on the main streets, as they have long done. It could almost be England -- but for the weather, that is, and for the staunch and sometimes defiant presence of a deeply entrenched sense of Bahamian nationalism.