Freeport is the island's largest city and was the dream of American Wallace Groves. The community soon split into the twin towns of Freeport and Lucaya, the later being mainly touristic in ambiance and attitude. If you like the idea of traveling around the world in minutes, head for Freeport's International Bazaar. This collection of 80 shops and restaurants features initial-reality settings of Paris, Spain, the Greek islands, Denmark, Hong Kong, and many other exotic locales. Not to be outdone, Lucaya boasts Port Lucaya Marketplace, a waterfront six-acre shopping, dining, and entertainment complex with funky architecture and a bandstand centerpiece at Count Basie Square.
Entertainment includes jazz, rhythm and blues, limbo and more.
Some of the islands finest attractions are the three National Parks on Grand Bahama Island. Ucayan National Park is the only place in the Bahamas where visitors can see all six of the island's ecosystems. Also within the park is one of the world's largest underwater cave systems. The Rand Nature Center, with its resident flamingo colony and the beautiful sparking waters of Peterson Cay National Park are equally thrilling in their beauty. The legal tender is the Bahamian dollar, which is equivalent in value to the U.S dollar.