City North America
St. George's
St. George's is the capital of Grenada, an island country in the Caribbean. Its buildings sit around a harbor, with green hills behind.
St. George's is the capital of Grenada, on the island's southwest coast. It stands on a small peninsula by a bay, around a horseshoe-shaped harbor called the Carenage. The town itself is small: Grenada's 2022 census counted 2,681 people in St. George's town.
St. George's, capital of Grenada, lies on the southwest coast on a small peninsula reaching into a shallow bay; French colonists founded it in 1650 (Universalis). Census 2022 (City Population, from the Central Statistics Office): St. George's town 2,681; St. George parish 44,777.
Photo: Bgabel, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Discover St. George's
St. George's is the capital of Grenada. Grenada is an island country in the Caribbean Sea.
The town is small, but many more people live in the parish around it.
Universalis says St. George's is the capital of Grenada, an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It lies on the island's southwest coast, on a small peninsula that reaches into a shallow bay. French colonists founded the town in 1650.
The town itself is small: Grenada's census of 14 January 2022 counted 2,681 people in St. George's town and 44,777 in the parish of St. George around it.
Universalis: capital of Grenada, an island state of the Lesser Antilles; on the southwest coast of the island, on a small peninsula reaching into a shallow bay; founded by French colonists in 1650; the town's population was estimated at 37,000 in 2004. Grenada Central Statistics Office via City Population: St. George's town 4,621 (1991), 3,908 (2001), 3,133 (2011), 2,681 (census 14 January 2022, marked 'Cp' on the page); St. George parish 44,777 (2022). The 2004 estimate and the 2022 town count differ widely.
- Country
- Grenada (capital)
- People in the town (census, 14 January 2022)
- 2,681
- People in St. George parish (same census)
- 44,777
- Founded
- 1650, by French colonists (Universalis)
Red roofs around a harbor
In this photo, red-roofed buildings sit around a harbor and on a small headland. A big white ship waits at the pier, and the sea stretches away.
This photo shows St. George's from Fort Frederick on 20 November 2011. Red-roofed buildings stand around the harbor and on a small headland, a large white ship is tied up at the pier, and green hills and a playing field lie below the fort's wall.
Universalis says Fort Frederick was built by the British at the end of the 18th century. Grenada's entry on UNESCO's tentative list says a ridge along Church Street holds the town's main landmarks and forms its spine.
Commons: 'GREN-stgeorges-fortfred', German description 'Blick auf St. George's vom Fort Frederick' (view of St. George's from Fort Frederick), own photo by Bgabel on Wikivoyage Shared, GFDL and CC BY-SA 3.0, taken 20 November 2011; moved to Commons in 2012; no camera location.
Universalis: Fort Frederick, built by the British at the end of the 18th century. UNESCO tentative list (St. George Historic District, submitted by Grenada in 2004): the planned and unplanned parts of the town are partly separated by a ridge on which the main landmarks were built (Church Street; the entry writes 'Churchstreet'), the town's spine. Wikidata: Grenada National Museum (Q15222142), opened 1976, 0.43 km SE of the city point.
- Photo
- St. George's seen from Fort Frederick, 20 November 2011, by Bgabel
- Fort Frederick
- built by the British at the end of the 18th century (Universalis)
- Town plan
- a ridge along Church Street holds the town's main landmarks and forms its spine (UNESCO tentative list)
A planned town of brick and tile
Long ago, part of the town was laid out in straight streets around a square. A town law said new buildings must be brick or masonry. Their roofs had to be clay tiles.
Universalis says French colonists founded St. George's in 1650. Grenada's entry on UNESCO's tentative list says part of the town was planned on a grid of streets around a central square, and grew mostly in the 1700s. After fires burned the town in 1771 and 1775, a town law said buildings had to be made of brick or masonry, with clay tile roofs, and stand apart instead of in rows.
Many of these Georgian-style buildings, adjusted to the Caribbean, still stand.
Universalis: founded by French colonists in 1650; from 1885 to 1958 the seat of government of the British Caribbean territories (British West Indies). UNESCO tentative list (St. George Historic District): the planned part was laid out on a grid with a central square and developed mainly during the 18th century; its present appearance owes much to a municipal law passed after fires razed the town in 1771 and 1775, requiring buildings of brick or masonry with clay tile roofs, built as detached units instead of row houses; the original plan has stayed intact and a large body of Georgian architecture adjusted to Caribbean conditions survives; the unplanned part, shaped by the natural harbor and the contours of the hills, developed from the early 19th century, with historic buildings mostly of wood in a vernacular Caribbean style.
- 1650
- French colonists founded the town (Universalis)
- 1771 and 1775
- fires burned the town; a town law then required buildings of brick or masonry with clay tile roofs (UNESCO tentative list)
- Georgian buildings
- a large body of Georgian architecture, adjusted to Caribbean conditions, survives (UNESCO tentative list)
The Carenage and the bay
Boats come into a harbor shaped like a horseshoe. It is called the Carenage.
Universalis says the Carenage, a horseshoe-shaped harbor in the inner part of the bay, is where ships anchor, and the center of the island's activity.
Grenada's entry on UNESCO's tentative list says the newer, unplanned part of the town was shaped by its natural harbor and by the curves of the hills around it. Grand Anse Beach lies about 4.3 kilometers south-southwest of the town's center point.
Universalis: the Carenage, the horseshoe-shaped port in the inner roadstead, is the ships' anchorage and the center of the island's activities. UNESCO tentative list: the unplanned part was shaped by the form of the natural harbor of St. George's and the contour lines of the surrounding hills. Wikidata: Carenage (Q140983507), 'horseshoe-shaped inner harbor and anchorage', 0.34 km ESE of the city point; Grand Anse Beach (Q24679921) 4.25 km SSW.
- Carenage
- a horseshoe-shaped harbor in the inner roadstead, where ships anchor (Universalis)
- Bay
- the town's small peninsula reaches into a shallow bay (Universalis)
- Grand Anse Beach
- about 4.3 km south-southwest of the city's Wikidata point (Wikidata)
Warm, with a rainy season
Grenada is warm all year. Its rainy season lasts from June to December.
Universalis says Grenada has a tropical climate, with average temperatures of about 28 °C. The rainy season lasts from June to December.
Rain is plentiful on the island: about 1,500 millimeters a year on the coast and more than 3,800 in the mountains, except in the southwest, toward Point Salines. St. George's is on the island's southwest coast.
Universalis (Grenade): a tropical climate with average temperatures of 28 °C; abundant precipitation (1,500 mm on the coast and more than 3,800 mm in the mountains), except in the southwest, toward Point Salines; the rainy season lasts from June to December.
No station table for St. George's opened: the WMO city list has no Grenada city, and the Japan Meteorological Agency's normals page for station 78958 has no data rows, so no climate table is shown.
- Climate
- tropical; average temperatures around 28 °C (Universalis, Grenada)
- Rainy season
- June to December (Universalis, Grenada)
- Rain
- plentiful: 1,500 mm on the coast and more than 3,800 mm in the mountains, except in the southwest toward Point Salines (Universalis, Grenada)
Nutmeg, cocoa and a museum
Ships carry cocoa, nutmeg and bananas away from the harbor. The town also has a museum about Grenada.
Universalis describes the Carenage as the center of the island's trade, where cocoa, nutmeg and bananas are shipped out.
In the older, unplanned part of town, UNESCO's tentative-list entry says, most historic buildings are made of wood, in a local Caribbean style. The Grenada National Museum, in a historic building, opened in 1976, Wikidata says.
Universalis: the Carenage is the center of the island's activities: the export of cocoa, nutmeg and bananas (the article's wording; its population figure dates from 2004). UNESCO tentative list: historic buildings in the unplanned part are predominantly of wood, in a vernacular Caribbean style; the urban pattern and architectural styles together form a blend of cultural features. Wikidata: Grenada National Museum (Q15222142), historic building, P571/P1619 1976, 0.43 km SE of the city point.
- Exports
- cocoa, nutmeg and bananas leave through the Carenage (Universalis)
- Wooden houses
- historic buildings in the unplanned part are mostly wooden, in a Caribbean vernacular style (UNESCO tentative list)
- Grenada National Museum
- a historic building in St. George's, opened as a museum in 1976 (Wikidata)
St. George's on the map
Find Grenada in the Caribbean Sea, near South America. St. George's is on its southwest coast.
St. George's lies at about 12.1° north and 61.7° west, on the southwest coast of Grenada.
Measured from the town's center point on Wikidata, the Carenage is about 0.3 kilometer east-southeast, the Grenada National Museum about 0.4 kilometer southeast and Grand Anse Beach about 4.3 kilometers south-southwest.
St. George's lies at about 12.05° N and 61.75° W (Wikidata point Q41547; the Natural Earth/sheet point is 1.25 km from it). From the Wikidata point: Carenage (Q140983507) 0.34 km ESE; Grenada National Museum (Q15222142) 0.43 km SE; Grand Anse Beach (Q24679921) 4.25 km SSW.
- Latitude
- about 12.1° north
- Longitude
- about 61.7° west
- Coast
- the southwest coast of Grenada (Universalis)
Amazing facts
-
St. George's harbor is shaped like a horseshoe!
Universalis says the Carenage, St. George's harbor, is shaped like a horseshoe.
Universalis: the Carenage, the horseshoe-shaped port in the inner roadstead, is the ships' anchorage.
-
Ships carry nutmeg away from St. George's harbor!
Universalis names cocoa, nutmeg and bananas as the goods shipped out through the Carenage.
Universalis: the Carenage is the center of the island's activities: the export of cocoa, nutmeg and bananas.
-
After two fires long ago, St. George's made a rule: buildings of brick or masonry, with clay tile roofs!
Grenada's entry on UNESCO's tentative list says a town law passed after the fires of 1771 and 1775 required brick or masonry buildings with clay tile roofs.
UNESCO tentative list: after fires razed the town in 1771 and 1775, a municipal law required buildings of brick or masonry with clay tile roofs, laid out as detached units.
Words to know
- capital
- the city where a country's government meets
- peninsula
- a piece of land with water on three sides
- masonry
- building work made of stone, brick or concrete blocks
- parish
- in Grenada, one of the areas the country is divided into
- tentative list
- a country's list of places it may ask UNESCO to name World Heritage sites
- census
- an official count of all the people in a country
Discovery challenge
-
St. George's is the capital of which island country?
St. George's is the capital of which country in the Lesser Antilles?
Universalis: St. George's is the capital of which island state of the Lesser Antilles?
- Grenada
- Jamaica
- Iceland
Show the answer
Grenada
Grenada!
Grenada.
Grenada.
-
What shape is St. George's harbor, the Carenage?
Universalis says the Carenage harbor is shaped like what?
Universalis describes the port in St. George's inner roadstead as shaped like what?
- A horseshoe
- A star
- A square
Show the answer
A horseshoe
A horseshoe!
A horseshoe.
A horseshoe (fer à cheval).
-
In which year was St. George's founded?
In which year did French colonists found St. George's?
Universalis: French colonists founded St. George's in which year?
- 1650
- 1771
- 1976
Show the answer
1650
1650!
1650.
1650.
-
After the old fires, what kind of roofs did the town law ask for?
After the fires of 1771 and 1775, what kind of roofs did St. George's town law require?
UNESCO tentative list: the municipal law passed after the fires of 1771 and 1775 required what kind of roofs?
- Clay tile roofs
- Grass roofs
- Wooden roofs
Show the answer
Clay tile roofs
Clay tile roofs!
Clay tile roofs, on brick or masonry buildings.
Clay tile roofs, on brick or masonry buildings laid out as detached units.
-
When is the rainy season on Grenada?
Universalis says Grenada's rainy season lasts from June to which month?
Universalis: Grenada's rainy season runs from June to which month?
- December
- July
- March
Show the answer
December
From June to December!
December.
December.
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For parents & teachers
What children will learn
- Locate St. George's on the southwest coast of Grenada, in the Caribbean.
- Explain why a sheltered, horseshoe-shaped harbor is useful for ships.
- Describe how a town law after fires changed the way buildings were made.
- Compare a planned grid of streets with a part of town that grew around hills.
Recommended ages: 3 to 17 · About 15 minutes
Talk about it
- Why might a town make a law about what buildings are made of?
- Why might the town itself be small while the area around it has many more people?
- What goods leave your nearest port, and where do they go?
Try at home or in class
- Fire-safe town: build two small model houses, one of paper and one of clay or stiff card with a tile roof, and talk about which would stand up better to sparks (no real flames).
- Grid map: draw a planned town on squared paper with a central square, then add a winding part that follows a hill.
- Time math: St. George's was founded in 1650. How many years ago is that?
Key vocabulary: capital, peninsula, masonry, parish, tentative list, census
Where these facts come from
- Wikidata , Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)
- Natural Earth vector data , Natural Earth (NACIS) (Public domain)
- Saint George's , Encyclopædia Universalis
- Grenade , Encyclopædia Universalis
- St. George Historic District (Tentative List) , UNESCO World Heritage Centre
- Grenada: Parishes & Major Capitals , City Population (Thomas Brinkhoff), from the Grenada Central Statistics Office
- File:GREN-stgeorges-fortfred.jpg (Bgabel) , Wikimedia Commons
- Wikimedia Commons , Wikimedia Foundation (Per file (public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA); see each media record)
Checked, not yet human-reviewed. Last updated November 1, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.