Castries Attractions

Castries is the capital, commercial center and main cruise port of St Lucia.

The town was founded by the French in about 1768 under the name Car'nage and renamed after a French official in 1785. The earlier settlement across the harbor at Vigie, started in 1651, was abandoned after the devastating hurricane of 1780.

From 1803 to 1844 the British made the town a major naval port and built fortifications on Morne Fortune, the mountain which overlooks this important harbor. By 1844, Castries had a population of 4,000. By the end of the century it had become a major coaling station, because it was the only port in the Caribbean capable of holding the whole British navy. During WWI was used as a prison for captured Germans.

During WWII, a German U-boat sailed into Castries harbor and sank two allied ships.

Castries suffered major fires in 1796, 1813, 1927 and 1948 which have shaped its development.