In St. John's--If you're staying outside St. John's (which is highly likely), you might consider visiting the city on market day on Saturday morning. Many of the locals with stuff to sell get right on the bus with whatever they'll be peddling in town at the market: chickens, birds, luscious fruit, beautiful flowers, and certainly plenty of handcrafts. They'll probably start bargaining with you before you even get to the market. In the southern part of St. John's, the semi-open-air market, on the lower end of Market Street, is colorful and interesting, especially from 8am to noon.

St. John's Cathedral, the Anglican church between Long Street and Newgate Street at Church Lane (tel. 268/461-0082), has resurrected itself time and again -- it's been destroyed by earthquakes and rebuilt on the same site at least three times since being built in 1683. The present structure dates from 1845.

Exhibits at the Museum of Antigua & Barbuda, at Market and Long streets (tel. 268/462-1469), are within one of Antigua's oldest buildings, built by English colonials in 1750 as a courthouse. The museum covers the island's history, from prehistoric days up to its independence from Britain in 1981. Exhibitions include examples of each of the semiprecious stones (especially jade) you can find on Antigua, as well as models of sugar plantations, steam engines, paintings, and historical prints. It's open Monday through Friday from 8:30am to 4pm and on Saturday from 10am to 2pm. There is a $2 suggested donation.