St. Thomas, a Popular Island
St. Thomas the main island, is also known as Rock City, because is located at the top of a great mountain reaching a height of 470 m. The most important city, Charlotte Amalie, the capital of US Virgin Islands, is in the middle of the south coast. Beaches come one after another in the rest of the coast, almost always surrounded by red houses with tin roofs, on top of the hills. At the end, the feeling of being trapped, leads visitors to move on to explore the diversity of landscapes available in the 83 square km. of the island.

Charlotte Amalie Shopping Paradise 
The capital of US Virgin Islands, founded in 1692 by the Danes, south of St. Thomas coast, and called after the Queen of Denmark, is a noisy city with overcrowded streets, people walking around the busy port. All streets maintain their original Danish names: Kongens Gade (King’s Street) Dronningens Gade (Queen’s Street), also known by the English name of Main Street. The names of the streets are one of the Danish traditions still in use.

Two blocks north of Main Street and following the Raadets Gade, is Cristal Gade, where you can find one of the oldest synagogues in activity of the Western World. The building, hurricane proof, maintains its original sand soil and was constructed back in 1833, though the congregation of Sefardi Jews coming from London and Amsterdam was founded only in 1796. Next to the synagogue is the Weibel Museum (open from Monday to Friday; free entrance), showing part of the St. Thomas’ Jews history.

The port is at the East end. Walking along the docks you can see numbers of yachts and glamorous cruisers lining over the quiet waters, with names like Windjammer o Kon Tiki. Each year St. Thomas celebrates the famous Rolex regatta, during Easter. In 2000, the US Virgin Islands competed for the first time in the America Cup. The ferry, departing each two hours to St. John, waits alongside the merchant vessels that make their trade between these islands. Inside you can find staterooms with kitchen stoves, lanterns, litters and a radio. A table hanging in the balustrade informs about the destiny, and that “Freights for St. Martin, Dominica, St. Lucia, and St. Kitts are accepted”.

Behind the docks is Forth Christian, a red wall fort, built by the Dutch in 1672, which makes it one of the oldest buildings in America. It served as a prison for sometime, was definitely closed in 1982. At present the old cells host the Virgin Islands Museum (open from Monday to Friday; free entrance, though you better leave some tips), where you can find American Indians tools and colonial furniture. At the hill behind the fort, Government Hill, is the Seven Arches Museum (open from Tuesday to Saturday; free entrance) an astonishing showing of Danish West Indies classic architecture.

East to the Yachting Ports
Maybe you can take some time to go through Charlotte Amalie and reach the nature surrounding the city, because of the traffic congestion, which is not due to the number of cars, but to the habit of drivers to talk with friends through the car windows. But once you leave the city, you’ll find winding roads, leading you to new luxurious resorts. While you drive you’ll have two feelings about the island. First, you will imagine you are in America, but soon you’ll find the island has its own character, with an economy depending on tourism that is alongside with the rum elaboration their only income source.

If you go out of the city, following the docks you will immediately find Heaven Sight Mall, an important commercial center built next to the cruisers station. Until 1993, Denmark was the owner of all this. At the Yacht Heaven Marina you can rent a yacht for a day to fishing near the coast or, if you prefer, you may go offshore to capture the blue marlin, a kind of swordfish. In fact, many consider St. Thomas as the World capital of the blue marlin. Another option is to take a seaplane to visit St. Croix or to explore the astonishing reefs from the Atlantis submarine. After leaving behind the dazzling Morning Star Beach and the romantic Secret Harbor, in half an hour you’ll be at Red Hook, at the east end of the island, and at the American Yacht Harbor, offering more activities related with leisure navigation, as well as a number of ferries sailing to the neighboring islands, amongst which are the British Virgin Islands. You can rent a motorboat for a quick exploration of some of the most beautiful islands around.