2 Best Sights in New Providence and Paradise Islands, Bahamas

Nearly 200 species of exotic palm trees grace the 11 verdant acres appropriately known as The Retreat, which is managed by The Bahamas National Trust. Stroll in blessed silence through the lush grounds of this protected national park, and be on the lookout for native birds. It's a perfect break on a steamy Nassau day. The Retreat hosts the Jollification—the island's unofficial start to the Christmas season—the third weekend in November. Carols, festive food and drinks, a kids' holiday craft center, and local artisans selling native and Christmas crafts make this a must-do event.

Fountains and statues of luminaries and legends (Napoléon and Josephine, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, David Livingstone, Hercules, and Mephistopheles) adorn Versailles Gardens, the terraced lawn at The Ocean Club, formerly the private hideaway of A&P supermarket heir Huntington Hartford. At the top of the gardens stand the Cloisters, the remains of a stone monastery built by Augustinian monks in France in the 13th century. They were imported to the United States in the 1920s by newspaper baron William Randolph Hearst. (The cloister is one of four to have ever been removed from French soil.) Forty years later, Hartford bought the Cloisters and had them rebuilt on their present commanding site. At the center is a graceful, contemporary white marble statue called Silence, by Scottish sculptor William Reid Dick. Nearly every day, tourists take or renew wedding vows under the delicately wrought gazebo overlooking Nassau Harbour. The garden is owned by The Ocean Club Four Seasons Resort.