Road Town: the Caribbean's sailing capital

Capital of the British Virgin Islands, Road Town thrives almost entirely on the sea: constant winds and sheltered waters have made it one of the Caribbean's most famous yacht charter bases.

The center can be explored on foot; the island's interior requires a car.

The Old Government House Museum, the former official residence of the governor until 2005, tells the colonial history of the archipelago through period furniture and photographs.

Continuing along the main street you pass through the small city market, where local fruits, spices, and handicrafts made from the wood of nearby forests are sold.

Climbing toward the interior you reach Sage Mountain National Park, which protects the remains of a rainforest rare in the Caribbean at the island's highest point.

Toward evening it's worth descending the opposite slope to Cane Garden Bay, a sheltered beach among the most photographed in Tortola.

Sir Francis Drake's channel, sheltered among the numerous islands of the archipelago, offers consistent winds but relatively calm waters: the combination that has made the British Virgin Islands one of the world's capitals of sailboat charter.

Sage Mountain forest survives only on a few dozen hectares: the rest of the island, once covered by sugar cane plantations, has never recovered its original vegetation.