Free Walking Tour Georgetown: Market to Parliament

Georgetown Walking Tour Stops, from Stabroek to Brickdam

1. 1

   Stabroek Market

   

   Start under the clock tower. Stabroek Market is the largest market in Georgetown, and its iron and steel hall with the tall clock on top is the building every Guyanese person recognises. The whole structure covers about 7,000 square metres (80,000 square feet), and its ironwork and tower still carry the look of Victorian Britain from the colonial era.

   Trading went on here long before anyone made it official. In 1842 the Georgetown Town Council designated this spot on Water Street as the market, recognising what had been happening for years. The hall you see came later: American engineer Nathaniel McKay designed it, and the Edgemoor Iron Company of Delaware built it in 1880 and 1881.

   Today this is the busiest corner of what locals simply call “Town”. Taxis and minibuses gather here, and ferries bring people and goods from the towns and villages along the Demerara River. Inside, thousands make their living selling everything from jewellery and clothes to fresh produce, so walk through slowly and take in the stalls.

   Entry is free. It is generally not a high crime area, though robberies do happen from time to time, so keep your valuables close in the crowd.

   From the market it is 780 m, about 11 minutes on foot, to the calm of Promenade Gardens.

   Hours

   Mon–Tue: 10:00–17:00 | Wed: 10:00–12:00 | Thu–Sat: 10:00–17:00 | Sun: Closed

   Price

   Free

   Location

   Stabroek Market on Google Maps ↗

2. 2

   Promenade Gardens

   

   After the noise of Stabroek, Promenade Gardens is a breather: a free, open-air public garden without a gate. Take a slow lap and find some shade before the waterfront.

   The surroundings carry heavy history. Just across Middle Street to the south lies Independence Park, once called the Parade Ground. This is where enslaved men who took part in the uprising of 1823 were publicly executed. Standing at the edge of the garden, it is worth pausing on that.

   Carmichael Street bounds the garden on the west, and across from it stands the State House, the residence of the President. You view it from the street only.

   From here the route heads back to Water Street: 820 m, about 11 minutes, to the Georgetown Lighthouse.

   Hours

   Daily: 08:00–18:00

   Price

   Free (public garden, open-air, no admission gate)

   Location

   Promenade Gardens on Google Maps ↗

3. 3

   Georgetown Lighthouse

   

   The Georgetown Lighthouse is one of the oldest pieces of the city you will see today. The Dutch first built a light here in 1817, and it was rebuilt in 1830, decades before the iron market hall you started at. It stands on Water Street and is looked after by the National Trust of Guyana.

   You view it from outside, at any hour and for free. Take a minute to look up at the tower and imagine ships finding the mouth of the Demerara by its light. Then it is only 320 m, about 4 minutes, to Umana Yana.

   Hours

   Open 24/7

   Price

   Free (exterior viewing)

   Location

   Georgetown Lighthouse on Google Maps ↗

4. 4

   Umana Yana

   

   Umana Yana (say oo-man-a yan-na) is a huge conical hut thatched with palm leaves, a benab. In the language of the Wai-Wai people the name means “meeting place of the people”, and it describes the great benabs they gather in. It stands on High Street in Kingston, next to the Le Meridien Pegasus Hotel, and you can walk around it freely at any time.

   Look closely at how it is made: thatch of allibanna and manicole palm leaves over wallaba posts, all lashed together with mukru, turu and nibbi vines. No nails were used. It rises 17 metres (55 feet) and covers 460 square metres, which makes it the largest structure of its kind in Guyana. About sixty Wai-Wai builders raised it, fashioning it like the shelters found deep in Guyana's interior.

   It was put up in August 1972 as a VIP lounge for the Non-Aligned Foreign Ministers Conference, designed by Guyanese architect George Henry on the site of the old Mariners' Club. In 2001 it became a National Monument. Fire gutted it on 9 September 2014; rebuilding began in late 2015 and finished in 2016, with better ventilation and the electrical problems behind the fire corrected.

   Outside stands the African Liberation Monument, unveiled by President Forbes Burnham on 26 August 1974 in memory of all who struggled for freedom from human bondage: five polished greenheart logs set in jasper on a granite boulder. It was declared a National Monument together with the benab.

   The Sea Wall is just 410 m away, about 5 minutes on foot.

   Hours

   Open 24/7 (outdoor benab monument in public compound on High Street, Kingston; interior event access via National Trust)

   Price

   Free

   Website

   nationaltrust.gov.gy ↗

   Location

   Umana Yana on Google Maps ↗

5. 5

   Georgetown Sea Wall

   

   Here you reach the Georgetown Sea Wall, part of a 280-mile wall that runs along much of Guyana's coast and the whole coastline of the capital. It is free and open around the clock. Walk a stretch along the top and look inland: most of the coastal settlements lie lower than the sea at high tide, and this wall is what keeps the water out.

   It was built after a disaster. In the Kingston Flood of 1855 an earthen wall gave way, the sea poured into the Kingston ward you just walked through, and Camp House, the former residence of the colony's governors, was washed away.

   Work began in 1858 between Fort William Frederick and the Round House, mostly by convict labour, using granite from the penal settlement at Mazaruni, today Mazaruni Prison. The first section, from Fort Groyne to the Round House, was done by 1860. In 1874 the Public Works department of British Guiana committed to a continuous wall from Camp Street to Kitty; by 1882 it reached Unity Village, and it was completed in 1892.

   Next comes the longest walk of the tour: 1,180 m, about 16 minutes, to the Walter Roth Museum of Anthropology on Main Street.

   Hours

   Open 24 hours

   Price

   Free (public seawall, open-air, no ticket desk)

   Location

   Georgetown Sea Wall on Google Maps ↗

6. 6

   Walter Roth Museum of Anthropology

   

   At 61 Main Street in North Cummingsburg, the Walter Roth Museum of Anthropology claims to be the oldest museum of its kind in the English-speaking Caribbean. It was established in 1974 but only opened to the public in 1982. Its purpose is to collect, show and preserve the heritage of Guyana's ancient cultures and Indigenous Peoples.

   The collection began with the finds of Guyanese archaeologist Dr. Denis Williams. In 1980 the ethnographic collections of Dr. Walter Roth, J.J. Quelch and Sir Everard im Thurn were moved here from the Guyana Museum. In 1991 anthropologist Dr. George P. Mentore donated a Wai-Wai collection, a fitting companion to the benab you just saw. There are also excavated artefacts from all ten administrative regions of Guyana.

   The museum is a research institution too: its annual journal, Archaeology and Anthropology, goes to universities and libraries in the United States, the United Kingdom, South Africa and the Caribbean.

   If Umana Yana sparked your curiosity, go in; it is free.

   From here it is 620 m, about 9 minutes, to the Guyana National Museum.

   Hours

   Mon–Thu: 08:00–16:30 | Fri: 08:00–15:30 | Sat–Sun: Closed

   Price

   Free

   Location

   Walter Roth Museum of Anthropology on Google Maps ↗

7. 7

   Guyana National Museum

   

   The Guyana National Museum was established on 13 February 1868, and many of its exhibits have been in place for more than fifty years. It is the museum the Roth collections came from before they moved to Main Street.

   Look out for the Pork-knocker figure, on display for over sixty years. Children and boat lovers will like the miniature models of the Transport and Harbours Department ferries, the same kind of boats that land at Stabroek. And there is the “PR1”, the car used by Prime Minister Dr. Ptolemy Reid during his time in office.

   Admission is free, but foreign visitors show their passport at the desk. Forty minutes is enough for a good look.

   St. George's Cathedral is only 240 m away, about 4 minutes.

   Hours

   Mon–Fri: 09:00–16:30 | Sat: 09:00–14:30 | Sun: Closed

   Price

   Free (foreign visitors show passport at desk)

   Website

   guyananationalmuseum.com ↗

   Location

   Guyana National Museum on Google Maps ↗

8. 8

   St. George's Cathedral

   

   St. George's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral built in Gothic Revival style, entirely of timber, and it reaches 43.5 metres (143 feet). Stand back on Church Street to take in the full height of the wooden spire and the pointed windows.

   Sir Arthur Blomfield designed it. It opened on 24 August 1892 and was completed in 1899. It is the seat of the Bishop of Guyana and a designated national monument.

   For most visitors this is an exterior stop: the cathedral is currently locked for casual visits. To see the inside, come to the Sunday Holy Eucharist or call +592-231-6150 to arrange a visit. There is no admission, but a donation is appreciated.

   City Hall is 350 m further, about 5 minutes.

   Hours

   Currently locked for casual visits; interior accessible during Sunday service (Holy Eucharist 05:30); call +592-231-6150 to arrange visit

   Price

   Free (donation appreciated; no mandatory admission)

   Website

   stgeorges.org.gy ↗

   Location

   St. George's Cathedral on Google Maps ↗

9. 9

   Georgetown City Hall

   

   Georgetown City Hall stands on the corner of Regent Street and Avenue of the Republic, a Gothic Revival building often called “the most picturesque structure” and “the most handsome building in Georgetown”. It houses the offices of the Mayor, the City Council and the City Engineer. In 1995 the government proposed it as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and it remains on the tentative list.

   Getting it built took decades. Planning started in 1854; councillors first wanted it in front of Stabroek Market or on the corner of Church and Main Street, where the National Library now stands. In 1886 the Town Council approved the project, and Mayor George Anderson Forshaw bought this site.

   In March 1887 a committee, joined by architect Cesar Castellani, chose a design titled “Damus Pitimusque Vicissim”, Latin for “we give and we ask in turn”, by Reverend Ignatius Scoles, who had designed churches in Europe. Scoles won a prize of $50 and turned it down. Governor Henry Turner Irving laid the foundation stone at 2pm on 23 December 1887, and the building was finished in June 1889.

   There are no public visiting hours. Enjoy the facade for free; the interior is only open on a paid guided heritage tour. Then walk 460 m, about 6 minutes, to the Parliament Building.

   Hours

   Office building, no public visiting hours; exterior viewable daily, interior visits only via guided heritage tour

   Price

   Free (exterior only; interior access via paid city tour)

   Location

   Georgetown City Hall on Google Maps ↗

10. 10

    Parliament Building

    

    The Parliament Building on Brickdam is home to the National Assembly of Guyana. It stands where the colonial Court of Policy used to meet and was completed on 21 February 1834, designed by Joseph Hadfield.

    Inside, the Parliamentary Chamber has a decorated ceiling by Cesar Castellani, the same architect who sat on the City Hall design committee. The hot, humid climate damaged it, and it was reconstructed between 2000 and 2005. The Parliament Library opened in the building in 1998.

    You can admire the exterior any time. The public gallery opens 30 minutes before sittings, and free guided tours are possible by appointment with the Parliament Office. This is where the walk ends; if you want to return, the GPS navigation leads you back to Stabroek Market.

    Hours

    Public gallery opens 30 min before sittings; guided tours by appointment with Parliament Office, no set walk-in hours

    Price

    Free (exterior; tours/gallery free, by appointment)

    Website

    parliament.gov.gy ↗

    Location

    Parliament Building on Google Maps ↗

Shorter Ways Through Georgetown

Short on time, or walking on a day when the museums are shut? The route splits neatly into a waterfront half and a museum half.

Waterfront and Sea Wall

Stops: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

For anyone who wants markets, river and coast without museum time. From Stabroek Market via Promenade Gardens, the lighthouse and Umana Yana to the Sea Wall: 31 minutes of walking, about two hours with stops. Everything is free.

Museums and Gothic Landmarks

Stops: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

For history and culture fans. From the Walter Roth Museum of Anthropology through the Guyana National Museum to the cathedral, City Hall and Parliament: 24 minutes of walking, a little over two hours with both museums. Both museums are free; plan it for a day when both are open.

How Long This Georgetown Tour Takes, With and Without Museums

The pure walking time is 1 h 12 min for 5.2 km. Add half an hour in Stabroek Market, about 40 minutes in each of the two museums and short pauses at the outdoor stops, and you are out for about four and a half hours. Start in the morning once the market is open, and you reach the Walter Roth Museum of Anthropology a little over two hours later and finish at the Parliament Building around four and a half hours after setting off.

Each half of the route takes roughly two hours: the waterfront stretch is mostly open air and quick, while the museum half moves slowly because of the two collections, even though the walks between them are short.

Before You Set Off from Stabroek Market

• Start and finish: The recommended start is Stabroek Market, and the walk ends at the Parliament Building. You can join at any stop, and the GPS navigation will lead you back to the start from the last stop if you like.
• Best day and time: Pick a day when the market and both museums are open and start in the morning. Their opening days differ, so check before you set out.
• Costs: No admission anywhere. The cathedral welcomes a donation, and only an interior visit of City Hall on a guided heritage tour is paid. The route, map and GPS navigation are free; the AI Tour Guide starts with 100 free credits, then costs €19.99 for this tour with no time limit, or €5 per hour.
• What to carry: Foreign visitors need their passport for the desk at the Guyana National Museum.

Common Questions About Walking Georgetown