fort charles

Went by myself as my wife really finds history dull ,well I loved it stood looking out and thinking about battles and what happened ,I found it amazing ,it does get hot so make sure you have good walking shoes and plenty to drink

The tour is excellent and our guide was very well informed. But it is hot (apparently all year) so make sure you are protected. The giddy house, tilted by an earthquake, is weird and yes, it does make you feel giddy. If you are hungry, there is a local takeaway kitchen (second left after the fort) that does excellent jerk chicken

When visiting Kingston you should take a half day trip to visit Fort Charles. To get there from kingston i'd recommend a normal public bus (i think it was number 98) from the Parade to Port Royal - total cost per person 180$JMD.Although the fort itself is not that big, the guide made the visit very interesting. Unfortunately when we visited there was a huge party a day before and there was garbage all around, but anyway it was worth it. We had a nice guide, forgot his name unfortunately but he wanted to become a History teacher. He'd be really good at it. He was able to talk interesting stories about the place whole time we were there. Try walking in a straight line in Giddy House :-)After visiting Fort Charles i'd recommend lunch at Gloria's Rendevouz.

Not much to see. It is interesting though. Cemeteries and Gloria's to eat at and the Methodist Church is beautiful.

This was Lord Nelsons first major assignment when he was around 20. Most of the cannon have been recovered after an earthquake swallowed the batteries into the sea. Not on list, but you MUST eat at Gloria's nearby. Sometimes the fort bar, about 10 x 10, is open.

Lovers of history will enjoy touring the museums at Fort Charles and listen to the stories of the once richest and wickedest city. Jamaica under the Briish

I went to this place in the morning on a week day. It was very quite at that time. There was just me in the whole fort area. The whole place was to myself. That made my experience very peaceful. I felt I should stay longer and read stuff related to the history of this place.The Giddy house is the main attraction. It's uncomfortable to walk in the building that's submerged in the ground on one side and tilted to the side. Besides Giddy house, the fort gives you a very good idea of it's importance during the past when it was flourished before the earthquake hit the coast.The person in the museum gave me an awesome rundown of the whole area, it's past, how it was before and what happened after the earthquake. His 10 minutes commentary made it easy for me to visualize the significance of this place.There is a small museum inside the fort, that hosts artifacts and collections before and after the earthquake.I think this is a good place to visit if you are in Kingston for more than few days.

We visited Fort Charles in November and had our own personal tour of the fort by a very informative young lady. Cost per adult is $US10.00. There was a group of school children visiting while we were there but they were in their own group. We saw only four other tourists during our 45-minute tour. The entire history of Port Royal is interesting with the earthquakes and hurricanes that had destroyed much of the island. The 1907 30-second earthquake caused the entire fort to sink 3.5 feet into the ground. Additionally, the "Giddy House" sank 10-feet on one side and 8-feet on the other. Hence, it is standing at an angle and fun to walk into. This is also how it got it's name by making one "giddy" while standing inside. The earthquake also caused a huge cannon to be displaced from it's concrete surroundings. The earthquake of 1692 (during the piracy heyday) basically caused two-thirds of the island to sink into the ocean killing about half the city's population (1,000 to 3,000 people). Approximately another 2,000 died afterward from rampant diseases that followed the earthquake and resultant tsunami. There are several interesting artifacts on display from diving explorations of the sunken buildings. I personally hope that the sunken houses that disappeared in 1692 from this earlier earthquake can be made into a sunken tourist attraction. Apparently, the tops of the sunken buildings could still be seen from the top of the water until sometime in the 90's. There is only one road from Kingston to Port Royal. This road also takes you to the airport which is located very near Fort Charles.

Touring Fort Charles was a great side trip. I had always wanted to see the giddy house and it was well worth the trip. The museum that holds some of the artifacts is very interesting. The tour is not a long one which allows you to check out more of Port Royal.

Took a taxi to Fort Charles - Port Royal and really thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Really really interesting young man as our guide who made the whole experience live and renewed faith in the next generation of Jamaicans.Delightful experience and such history - thoroughly recommend plus lunch in village.

Nice old fort. Some of the fort is not accessible as the Jamaican Defence Force still owns part of the property. The fort tour is not very long. Our guide was very informative and friendly. A fine example of an old red brick fort.

its absolutlely beautiful. Very friendly people. Very informative tour guides. i am jamaican went there with my school twice loved it both times. its very cool knowing that pirates went there!

Fort Charles is quite a large old brick built fort, close to the sea, in small the historic town of Port Royal. It's excellent to explore within, while outside there are other historic attractions. The Victorian Battery, excavated and exposed in recent years, a huge cannon and the Giddy House - a storeroom at an alarming angle due to earthquake. There is also an interesting small museum with several antiquities on display.Overall, well worth the ten mile trip along the Palisadoes road, which has the sea to one side and offers great panoramic views over Kingston harbour of the city and Blue Mountains.

Скажем честно. Форт Чарльз, это единственное, что еще осталось в Порт Ройяле. Это единственное сооружение, которое до наших дней сохранилось почти нетронутым. И то благодаря тому, что почти до пятидесятых годов двадцатого века там стоял военный гарнизоне. Что он там делал, это вопрос уже не ко мне, но стены красного кирпича хоть как-то подмазывали, и мусор жизнедеятельности убирали. Поэтому мы сейчас видим и стены форта, и его внутренности. И даже за пределами крепости остались механизмы поворотных орудий, который защищали подходы к Кингстону. Вход в форт платный. Не скажу, что дорого. На наши деньги, что-то около ста рублей. Копейки, практически. Другое дело, что даже за соль небольшую сумму, там абсолютно нечего смотреть. Ну, за исключением ямайского цветного стяга, поднятого над входом. Несколько сот метров крепостной стены. Низкой. Беспонтовой. Если судить по возможностям современного боя, то взвод автоматчиков возьмет сию крепость ровно за пятнадцать минут. Внутри находится неработающее кафе-бар, и музей. Вот тут вообще хохма. В музее всего один зал. Экспонатов всего ничего. Самое запоминающее, орудия местного хирурга, которым лечили и аппендицит, и гонорею. Одновременно. И при этом введен запрет на фотосъемку. Сто пудов ради того, чтобы никто не сказал, что в экспозиции этой нечего смотреть. Без фотоотчетов эту версию не подтвердить.А еще там есть табличка:--- Здесь служил Горацио Нельсон.Спрашиваю жену:--- Хоть знаешь, кто это такой?--- А то! Это тот, у кого жена была Леди Гамильтон!Вот так всегда. Из всех героических поступков прославленного адмирала, помнят лишь то, что он имел неосторожность жениться... Итоги по крепости. Посетить стоит. Особенно раз Вы все равно уж в Порт Ройял приехали. Больше там делать все равно нечего.