4 Best Sights in South Side Commercial District, Belize City

The city's finest colonial structure is said to have a design inspired by the illustrious British architect Sir Christopher Wren. Built in 1814, it was once the residence of the governor-general, the British monarchy's representative in British Honduras. Following Hurricane Hattie in 1961, the decision was made to move the capital inland to Belmopan, and the house became a venue for social functions and a guesthouse for visiting VIPs. (Queen Elizabeth stayed here in 1985, Prince Philip in 1988.) Now it's open to the public. You can peruse its archival records, and art and artifacts from the colonial era, or mingle with the tropical birds that frequent the gardens.

Not the oldest building in the city but arguably the most striking, the 1926 Belize Supreme Court building is patterned after its wooden predecessor, which burned in 1918. The current building, painted white, has filigreed iron stair and balcony rails, similar to what you might see in New Orleans (the construction company came from Louisiana), between two arms of the structure, and above the balcony a four-sided clock. This being Belize, the clock faces all seem to show different times. You can't enter the building, but it's worth admiring from the outside.

On Albert Street's south end is the oldest Anglican church in Central America and the only one outside England where kings were invested. From 1815 to 1845, four kings of the Mosquito Kingdom (a British protectorate along the coast of Honduras and Nicaragua) were crowned here. The cathedral, built of brick brought here to what once was British Honduras as ballast on English ships, is thought to be the oldest surviving building in Belize from the colonial era. Its foundation stone was laid in 1812. Inside, it has whitewashed walls and mahogany pews. The roof is constructed of local sapodilla wood, with mahogany beams. Residents of the city usually refer to the cathedral as simply "St. John's."

You can combine a visit to the cathedral with a visit to the House of Culture, as they are just across the street from each other. The street itself is safe to visit during day; we recommend taking a taxi to and from, no matter what the time of day.

As its name suggests, the bridge spanning Haulover Creek in the middle of Belize City actually swings. When needed to allow a boat through or by special request of visiting dignitaries, four men hand-winch the bridge a quarter-revolution so waiting boats can continue upstream. (When it was the only bridge in town, this snarled traffic for blocks; the opening of three other upstream bridges has eased that pressure.) The bridge, made in England, opened in 1923; it was renovated and upgraded in 1999. Outsiders' recommendations to automate the swing mechanics or—heaven forbid—rebuild the bridge entirely are always immediately rejected. No one wants to eliminate the city’s most unusual landmark. Before the Swing Bridge arrived, cattle were "hauled over" the creek in a barge. The bridge appears in a scene of a little-remembered 1980 movie The Dogs of War, set in a fictitious African country but mostly filmed in Belize.