Antiguas capital, St Johns is based on a massive natural harbour which is situated on the western part of Antigua
. It was originally setup on a regular grid pattern in 1702 on a surface that slowly elevates away from the water to the east and moves further up towards the heights where the Cathedral can be seen. The population of St Johns is over 23,000 inhabitants and is seen as the main hub of the island as well as the main port. Further to this, you will also see containers ships in the harbour as well as the various cruise ships that dock at this modern port.
St Johns is gradually making progress towards modernising its infrastructure; however there are still many individual stone and wooden structures that show the older version of the town. There are a wide selection of conserved structures at Redcliffe Quay which have now been converted into shops and restaurants. The modern aspects of the town can be seen at Heritage Quay which is situated on the waterfront and has been extremely modernised. The straight streets of St Johns have all that you would expect in a modern Caribbean town such as a wide selection of shops and cafes available to holidaymakers and locals. Despite the increasingly modern look of the town, there are still a number of roadside traders that are still using the traditional West Indian way of selling products from their stalls.
Further examples of how the town has progressed can be seen in its infrastructure whereby the town has now expanded beyond the limits of its original grid, and there are now a collection of outlying residential and industrial which have expanded in all directions. If you explore the northern part of the town there are now a number of residential areas and further still if you wander to the eastern part of the town you will find the East Bus Station, the cricket ground, the new government buildings and the new hospital. After you have passed through the main streets to the southern part of the town you will come across the main covered market, the fish market and the West Bus Station. These places are one of the main hubs of modern Antiguan life where you can get a real feel for the Antiguan culture that can be found all over the island.