Around Town
Basseterre is a very small town which is laid out in a grid pattern. It has four main streets running west to east, and they are listed here in sequence from south to north: Bay Road, Liverpool Row, Central Street and Cayon Street. The main street running north to south is Fort Street/Bank Street, which is home to the bulk of the island's main shops and banks. The city has 2 centres, at The Circus, which is geared towards tourism purposes, and the Independence Square, which contains the cathedral, courthouse and most of the older buildings.
Basseterre is the main commercial and industrial centre of St. Kitts. It is also the country's main port of entry, for both sea and air travel, as well as the road and rail transport hub. It houses the administration buildings for the federal government (those for the island of Nevis are in Charlestown). It also houses the headquarters of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, as well as the headquarters for many other regional financial institutions.
Despite its small size, Basseterre played host to Carifesta VII (the Caribbean Festival of Arts) in 2000, outbidding rivals many times its size. The city was able to outbid the United States of America, to host matches for the 2007 World Cricket Cup. The Warner Park Sporting Complex was the site of the allocated first round matches of the tournament. This made St. Kitts and Nevis the smallest country in the world ever to host a World Cup event.
Basseterre is home to two private, for-profit medical institutions founded by Robert Ross: the Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine and the International University of Nursing. The city has four secondary schools, two of which are government owned, and two are private schools.
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“Close to the academy in this town they have erected a sort of gallows for the pupils to practice on. I thought that they might as well hang at once all who need to go through such exercises in so new a country, where there is nothing to hinder their living an outdoor life. Better omit Blair, and take the air.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
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—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)