Versailles Gardens & French Cloister

The Versailles Gardens and French Cloister are one of Paradise Island's most surprising attractions — and one of its best-kept secrets. While most families head straight for Atlantis, these terraced gardens sitting quietly on a hillside near the Ocean Club offer something completely different: a peaceful, beautiful, and historically fascinating experience that costs absolutely nothing.

The gardens are designed in a classical French style, cascading down a hillside in rectangular terraces roughly 75 feet wide and extending about a quarter mile toward Nassau Harbor. Bronze and marble statues, tropical flowers, manicured hedges, and towering palms line the pathways. The whole composition is gorgeous and provides some of the best photography spots on Paradise Island.

But the real jaw-dropper sits at the top: the French Cloister, an actual 14th-century Augustinian monastery that was transported stone by stone from its original location in southeastern France to Paradise Island in the 1960s by Huntington Hartford, the island's original developer. The medieval stone columns and arches — genuine Gothic architecture from the 1300s — standing in tropical sunshine surrounded by palm trees is genuinely surreal. Kids old enough to grasp the concept are fascinated by the idea of dismantling an 800-year-old building and rebuilding it on a Caribbean island.

The gardens are publicly accessible from Paradise Island Drive. Look for the pathway between Ocean Club properties — it can be easy to miss. The terraces involve stairs, so while the main path is manageable, strollers will struggle on the steeper sections. A baby carrier works better.

Plan 30-45 minutes for a leisurely walk through the gardens and time at the Cloister. It pairs beautifully with a free afternoon on Cabbage Beach (10-minute walk) or as a peaceful counterpoint to the Atlantis chaos. Visit at sunset for the most dramatic harbor views and golden light on the cloister stones.