Restored colonial-era buildings in Fort. The covered, colonnaded sidewalk was typical of colonial architecture to provide protection from sun and monsoons.

Fort, where in the 1870s the British built a fort now gone, is the center of Colombo and is seeing a resurgence after the bombing of the Central Bank in 1996 during the civil war with the Tamil Tigers prompted businesses to disperse to outlying neighborhoods. The government has realized that restoring heritage buildings rather than replacing them with modern high-rises will create an area more attractive to locals and tourists alike.

On Google Earth: