Charlestown is situated on the leeward side of the island of Nevis near the southern end of Pinney's Beach.

Notable buildings in Charlestown include Hamilton House, where Alexander Hamilton, a Founding Father of the United States and framer of the U.S. Constitution, was born, and the nearby ruins of Montpelier Estate, where the British naval hero Horatio Nelson was married.

There are many other important buildings in the town, some historical and some recent, such as the Post Office, the old Treasury Building which is now the Nevis Tourism Authority, the Court House and Public Library, the new Police Station and the Alexandra Hospital.

There is a modern port area with a dock where the ferries from St. Kitts load and unload passengers.

Memorial Square commemorates all the Nevisian soldiers who died during World Wars I and II.

Nearby is the Cotton Ginnery Mall which supplies some of Nevis' residents' recreational shopping needs.