Douglas
The capital of the island, Douglas, makes a good base from which to discover the rest of the Isle of Man, as all roads lead here. The town was a product of Victorian mass tourism and displays many similarities to Blackpool just across the water; being the centre of the island's tourist trade has naturally resulted in Douglas attracting the vast majority of the island's hotels and better restaurants. The most interesting streets are those located in the old quarter of town near to the harbour, where there has been an attempt to preserve Douglas' historic quayside. The nearby Manx Museum provides a good starting point for those wishing to further understand Manx culture and heritage. The museum tour begins with a National Gallery of Manx painters, followed by rooms that chart the island's history, including Neolithic standing stones, Celtic grave markers and most notably some excellent displays relating to Viking burials and runic crosses.
Much of the current understanding of Manx culture originated from a cache of silver coins, minted in Dublin in 1030, and excavated at Peel Castle in the 1980's. Alongside the cache was found evidence of a pagan sacrifice in the form of a woman's severed scalp; both trove and scalp are displayed in the Manx Museum.