Annaberg Sugar Plantation Ruins

Culture, history and things to do in the US Virgin Islands

Explore sugar-estate ruins, colonial landmarks, island food and sites that connect the US Virgin Islands to its past.

Across St. Croix, St. Thomas and St. John, historic forts and estate ruins bring different parts of the islands’ past into view. These stops also include a working rum distillery, local cooking and places to explore on foot or by kayak.

  1. Annaberg Sugar Plantation Ruins

    Things to do, Leinster Bay

    Walk among the windmill base, boiling house and factory walls of a St. John sugar estate. Interpretive panels cover sugar production and the lives of the enslaved people who worked there.

  2. Christiansted National Historic Site

    Things to do, Christiansted

    This waterfront group of Danish colonial buildings includes Fort Christiansvaern, the Steeple Building and the former Customs House. The preserved sites can be explored on a self-guided stroll through Christiansted.

  3. Cruzan Rum Distillery

    Food & Drink, Estate Diamond

    At this working St. Croix distillery, guided tours follow rum-making from molasses to barrel, passing fermentation tanks and aging warehouses. The distillery’s roots go back to 1760.

  4. Fort Christian

    Things to do, Charlotte Amalie

    Begun in the 1670s, Fort Christian is the oldest standing structure in the US Virgin Islands. Its museum displays photographs, furniture and artefacts tracing Danish colonial and Virgin Islander history.

  5. Gladys' Café

    Food & Drink, Charlotte Amalie

    Set in Charlotte Amalie’s Royal Dane Mall arcade, Gladys’ Café serves Caribbean home cooking, including conch in butter sauce, callaloo and fried fish. It is a breakfast-and-lunch stop while exploring the old town.

  6. Point Udall

    Things to do, East End

    The Millennium Monument sundial at this St. Croix headland was built for the dawn of 2000. Cliffs overlook the Caribbean, and a trail leads toward Jack and Isaac Bays.

  7. Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve

    Parks & Nature, North shore

    This St. Croix bay is the documented landing place of a Columbus expedition in 1493. Interpretive signs and colonial fort earthworks trace its human history, while kayak tours pass through the mangroves.

  8. Virgin Islands National Park

    Parks & Nature, Cruz Bay

    Covering roughly two-thirds of St. John, the park includes historic sugar-estate ruins and Taino petroglyphs along the Reef Bay Trail. Its Cruz Bay visitor center offers maps and ranger advice.