Sun, sand and sea: a timeless recipe, readily available throughout the Caribbean. But sun, sand, sea — and city? Visit Jamaica to indulge in that one. Sure, the resplendent island has a range of resort areas where one can merrily get one’s beach-bum on. But it’s also got Kingston, a woefully underrated, misunderstood metropolis. Yes, there are slums and there is crime. But there is also cosmopolitan culture, pulsating night life, a booming local music scene and a host of other urban delights. With a new airline (Fly Jamaica), a 130-room Marriott under construction in the island’s capital, modish-yet-playful new lounges in both international airports (Club Kingston and Club Mobay, decked out in sprightly Jamaican colors) and restaurant openings across the island, it’s an ideal time to take a side of city with your sand, and heed the tourism board’s Bob Marley-inspired mantra, trite yet spot on: Come to Jamaica and feel all right.

FRIDAY

1. Bolt to Bolt | 1 p.m.

Just after touching down in Kingston, pay homage to that most-revered Jamaican. No, the other one: the one who runs, not sings. Usain Bolt’s Tracks & Records is a restaurant, sprawling sports bar (with more than 45 TVs, including a 20-foot one) and ultracool shrine to the fastest man alive, complete with Brand Bolt products for sale. The menu is a mix of classic Jamaican dishes, like roast fish and viscous red pea soup, and funky remixes, like jerked chicken quesadillas and the “jam Asian Cobb salad.” Lunch will come to about 1,200 Jamaican dollars, or $11.40, at 105 Jamaican dollars to the United States dollar. (Almost all businesses in Jamaica accept local or United States currency; they may charge in one or another, but accept both.) Look for the monthly “Behind the Screen” concert series, which features big-name reggae artists, unplugged.

2. R&R Downtown | 3 p.m.

Kingston is the mecca of R&R. That’s reggae and Rastafarianism, two of the Caribbean’s most monumental cultural movements. Get a crash course in them, along with a snapshot of Jamaican history, flora and arts, at the sundry museums that make up the Institute of Jamaica in historic downtown Kingston, near the waterfront. There’s the National Gallery, which nicely fuses classic Jamaican art with avant-garde exhibitions; the Natural History Museum; the Jamaica Music Museum; and Liberty Hall, which honors the back-to-Africa pioneer Marcus Garvey in the original headquarters of his Universal Negro Improvement Association ($5 admission for adults).