The mercury is slowly starting to rise, and while Caribbean beaches are just as great in the summer (thanks to cool ocean breezes), it’s the perfect excuse to check out some of the region’s museums. Last year, we took a look at some of the best museums in the Caribbean. Now we have a new list, looking to offer you a diverse array of museums to check out in the Caribbean this summer, from larger art-focused museums to smaller ones focusing on areas like music and archaeology. What’s your favourite Caribbean museum? Tell us in the comments section.
Museo de Art de Ponce — Puerto Rico
Blessed with one of the more impressive art collections in the Caribbean, it has centuries of incredible art in a beautifully designed setting.
MUPANAH — Haiti
It remains under the radar, but people are slowly beginning to realize just how fascinating a place the Musee du Pantheon National Haitien truly is. It offers a broad look at Haitian and Caribbean history.
Bob Marley Museum — Jamaica
Few have meant more to their region than Bob Marley has to the Caribbean, and the Bob Marley Museum, set in the musician’s former home in Kingston, is a great place to learn more about his life and legacy.
Alexander Hamilton Museum — Nevis
Despite his incredible political talent, there was a reason Alexander Hamilton could never be President of the United States — he was born outside of the United States — in Nevis. Today, his onetime home in Charlestown serves as a museum of Nevisian history and, to this day, as the meeting place of the Nevis Island Assembly.
Barbados Museum and Historical Society
This charming museum and complex was once home to a military prison at St Ann’s Garrison. Today, it explores hundreds of years of Bajan history, from colonial artifacts to modern art.
The Whaling Museum — Bequia
While whaling is no longer practiced in Bequia save for a handful culturally exempted hunts each year, you cannot understand the history of Bequia without exploring the history of whaling. It’s a small but powerful museum that will remind of the meaning this once-global industry had to the tiny Caribbean island.
Schoelcher Museum — Guadeloupe
Housed in a 19th-century building in Point-a-Pitre, the Schoelcher Museum houses the onetime collection of Victor Schoelcher, the great abolitionist of the French Caribbean.
Musee Paul Gauguin — Martinique
Famous painter Paul Gauguin did some of his best work outside of his homeland of France, including a six-month stay on the island of Martinique. This small museum looks at the art Gauguin created while in Martinique.
Museo Judio Sosua — Dominican Republic
In the years leading up to the Holocaust and during that period, a number of Jews fled Europe and settled in the area of Sosua in the Dominican Republic’s Puerto Plata region. The Museo Judio takes a look at the community and its history in the Dominican Republic.
National Archaeological Museum of Aruba
It’s now been around for more than three decades, and the National Archaeological Museum of Aruba is a wonderful place to learn about the pre-Columbian inhabitants of Aruba.