Castletown Harbour

Castletown was the Isle of Man's capital until 1869, and its small harbour still sits at the heart of the old town, ringed by Georgian and earlier buildings, with Castle Rushen rising directly behind the quay. Fishing boats still use the harbour, though the commercial shipping trade that once passed through it ended decades ago. The Nautical Museum on the quayside houses the Peggy, an 18th-century armed pleasure yacht discovered bricked up in her own boat cellar, and the whole harbourfront keeps the compact, unhurried layout of a town that was built to be governed from, not passed through.

Stay in Castletown and you are as close as the island allows — see Castletown accommodation.

Also worth your time: Castle Rushen.