Bridgetown north of Heroes Square, house the third oldest parliament in the British Commonwealth. Indeed, at one point in its early history, Bridgetown was the most important city of all British possessions in the New World. Additionally, Bridgetown is the only city outside continental North America that George Washington visited. (George Washington House, the actual house where he stayed, is now part of the Garrison Historic Area)

Bridgetown has the qualities of a fully modern and thriving city. There is access to many services including a piped water supply (said to be naturally among the purest in the world), electricity, natural gas supply, cutting-edge telecommunications, wireless services, internet cafes, and a good overall infrastructure. The city is also served by an impressive conference facility "The Lloyd Erskin Sandiford Conference Centre" in the suburb of Two Mile Hill just beyond the city's eastern limits. The City of Bridgetown played host to the 1994 United Nations Global Conference on Sustainable Development of Small Islands States. Bridgetown has branches of some of the largest banks in the world and English-speaking Caribbean and is internationally recognized as an emerging financial domicile. The city is currently experiencing a phenomenal spurt of redevelopment in preparation for the 2007 World Cricket Cup Finals to be held at the historic Kensington Oval. The Oval is being renovated to a state-of-the-art sports facility that will accommodate 30,000 spectators. Live viewer ship for the 2007 event is estimated to be in the region of 2 billion.

For a city of its size, Bridgetown is home to several prestigious educational institutions. The city serves as the seat of one of the three campuses of the University of the West Indies in the northern suburb of Cave Hill. The campus sits on a bluff offering a spectacular view of Bridgetown and its port. The Barbados Community College is located 3 miles east of the Central Business District in a suburb known as "The Ivy", while the sprawling campus of the Samuel Jackman Prescod Polytechnic is located just beyond the eastern limits of the city in a suburb known as "The Pine". In addition, the city houses such distinguished secondary schools as Harrison College and Combermere.