Belize City, Belize City Guide
For over 20 years, Pamela Lanier's Belize City, Belize Travel Guide has been your connection to Belize City's tourism community with invaluable details on local attractions, restaurants, shopping, museums, history, outdoor recreation and more.
Things to do in Belize City
Belize City was originally called Holzuz when it was a small Mayan city in 550 CE. Later colonized by the British Empire, Belize City then became the capital of Belize, and is now a bustling port city rich with a diverse history and culture. Mayans and Garinagu now make up only a small portion of the population; the majority being descendants of European pioneers and their African slaves. Adding to this cultural melting pot are the recent immigrants of Asian and African countries as well as North America, shaping the city into an international stomping ground.
People come from all over to experience Belize City’s many museums, starting with the Museum of Belize. Originally built in 1857 as a prison, the building was only recently converted into a museum to guard the nation’s treasure instead of the nation’s criminals. If fans of the Maya culture, bed and breakfast travelers will be pleased with the museum’s large selection of Mayan artifacts and artwork as well as the numerous other rotating exhibits on display in the museum. Memorial Park and Baron Bliss Grave are also places of historical interest that celebrate Belize’s own personal benefactor, the Baron Bliss, and offer a relaxing way to spend the morning or afternoon. Belize City is home to the only fully functional manually operated swing bridge in the world. The bridge divides the city into north and south, located at the mouth of Haulover Creek, the point where the Belize River empties into the Caribbean. This architectural novelty was built in 1922, and recently restored at the turn of the millennium. Twice a day, road traffic is stopped on the bridge, and the central part is pivoted 90 degrees to allow boats and water traffic through.
