Derek Walcott Square

This public square in central Castries, renamed for the Nobel laureate poet born on the island, is the historic civic heart of the capital. It is shaded by an enormous samaan tree said to be four centuries old and bordered by the cathedral and rows of surviving 19th-century wooden buildings with fretwork balconies. A war memorial and busts commemorate national figures. Formerly Columbus Square, it was rededicated to honour Walcott's contribution to literature.