[1] It is a small and compact urban settlement, in the Saint George parish and surrounded by the Caribbean Sea, the Roseau River and Morne Bruce.

[4] By the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the British set out plans for the city that included fortifications and government structures, the grid street system, and blocks and new urban areas to the north and south, known today as Potter's Ville and Newtown.

[5] Roseau's nearby scenery (mostly in its so-called valley) includes Boiling Lake, 10.5 km (6.5 mi) east, in the Morne Trois Pitons National Park, waterfalls, thermal springs, and scenic plateaus.

Morne Bruce provides panoramic views of most of downtown Roseau and north toward Woodbridge Bay deepwater port and Fond Cole.

From Morne Bruce there are views of the Botanic Gardens at its base as well as the Caribbean Sea which look quite spectacular when cruise liners are in port.

Roseau features a noticeably drier stretch from February through April, though each of these months on average sees at least 45 millimetres or 1.8 inches of rain.

The central district of Roseau is tightly packed with small and large houses and even larger modern concrete structures.

No other centre in the region has such extensive botanical gardens with such central location, and the Roseau River is among the largest that flow through any Caribbean capital.

The urban structure of Central Roseau is based on an irregular grid system of miniature proportions, making it a highly illegible city.

The Roman Catholic Cathedral stands prominent in Gothic Romanesque revival and the Anglican Church on Victoria Street in Georgian style.

Motorized vehicles pour into the central district introducing a mode of point-to-point interaction in an environment that was created for multiple use.

Football is popular; there are several pitches throughout the city (at Newtown, Potters Ville, and Bath Estate), as well as in the sports stadium at Windsor Park.

In 2007, Windsor Park, a cricket stadium which is also home to the Dominica national football team, was completed with a donation of EC$33 million from the government of the People's Republic of China.

Elsewhere it is not uncommon to find that a section of the street, sidewalk or the beach has been adapted for makeshift games of cricket or football.

ChildFund International USA has an office in Roseau from where it runs its child centered development programs for Dominica and Saint Vincent.

The ferry terminal provides direct links to the neighbouring Guadeloupe to the north and Martinique and St. Lucia to the south.