Willemstad

Having 4 days and 4 nights in Curaçao allowed my wife and I ample time to explore Historic Willemstad and the island as a whole. Using Els' neatly compiled list of 18 representative sites across the already well described districts, I explored the island by morning (car) and after lunch I explored Willemstad (on foot). Renting a car proved useful (if expensive), it allowed us to easily visit Curaçao's National Parks, Ramsar Wetlands (Flamingos!), Caves, Plantations, and best beaches.

To enhance your experience of the History of Willemstad, I would recommend three museums (all part of listed monuments within the WHS).

1. Kura Hulanda Museum (Otrobanda)

2. Mikve Israel-Emanuel Synagogue Museum (Punda)

3. Curacao Maritime Museum (Scharloo)

A particularly memorable experience in Willemstad, was in Nieuwstraat (Pietermaai) at the 'Mundo Bizarro', a popular live music restaurant/pub. Hearing Caribbean music and feeling the energy of the dance floor as the musicians expertly played their set, I will not forget it. Nearby, 'Kome' restaurant serves delicious dishes and has a great atmosphere. Considering that Willemstad is off and on busy based on the arrival of cruise ships, if you have a few days you can see a more "lively" atmosphere or laid back one. When the pontoon bridge is not in service, take the free ferry to cross back and forth, ideally near dusk.

According to the official website there are 743 listed properties that contribute to the Willemstad world heritage site. Both establishments I highlighted …

Curacao holds the WHS where I could finally “finish” the Netherlands: the "Historic Area of Willemstad, Inner City and Harbour". While I already was done with the 9 other Dutch WHS in 2011, Willemstad seemed out of reach. The 10-hour flight to an island fully dedicated to mass tourism had always deterred me. During Covid times, however, there are no cruise ships, and the total number of monthly visitors is limited to 20,000. So it was exactly the right moment for me!

I stayed overnight for a week in the Pietermaai neighborhood and explored the other 3 zones of the WHS on foot. I used itineraries that I found on the internet to identify the most interesting structures of Scharloo, Otrobanda, and Punda.

I started in Scharloo, a neighborhood of detached 19th-century residences. The place to be here is the long Scharlooweg. The stately buildings along this road now house companies and also the Swiss consulate. All are heavily secured and have gates in front. No one walked this street on a Sunday, I only met a stray dog.

The Waaigat separates Scharloo from the Punda district, the oldest part of the city center. As a pedestrian, you can choose from 3 bridges in a row to get to the other side. Especially this part of Willemstad is very reminiscent of Amsterdam. Fortunately, car traffic nowadays uses the also impressive 56-meter-high Juliana Bridge.

I almost immediately left Punda to cross another stretch of water: St. Anna …

No trip to Curaçao is complete without a visit to Willemstad. Well, actually it easily could because it's at the opposite of the island as you arrive by air but I suppose there isn't so much to do that you would skip it (besides, it's a 5 minute drive from the airport). If you are coming from Europe, especially The Netherlands, then this is a waste of time though. It's basically a waterfront in Dutch style. I spent very little time here mainly because the parking is expensive like back in Europe so I stopped across the river, photoshoot, walked across the bridge and then circled around the small town a few times. It's actually super small. I later drove through it to get to the nearby beach which is more or less for drinking and partying rather than chilling.

The buildings you see are clean and neat, nice Dutch Caribbean variation of the Colonial settlements, but not all of the buildings are remains from the past and good efforts are spent that new ones will fit in with the style. Aside from the waterfront I don't think it's worth checking out anything else. It's pretty and that's all. The town itself is just shops and restaurants but on the day I visited there was also nothing going on so I suppose the atmosphere could be nicer in the evening or just other days.

My assessment of Willemstad passed through a number of phases during our 2012 visit and certainly finished “higher” than it stood at some stages during the day we were there! However the initial view from the sea as we entered by ship was perhaps the highlight – it is certainly memorable and seemed to augur better for things to come. The Queen Emma pontoon bridge quirkily “opened up” to let our boat enter a narrow waterway (around 150 metres wide?), lined on both sides by brightly painted houses of vaguely Dutch design – the entire view is framed beyond by the slim high level Queen Juliana bridge linking the 2 sides. Beyond however lies a large and ugly oil refinery and freight shipping terminal.

The inscribed old town is in 3 sections, divided first by the main N/S waterway, with another smaller “canal” at right angles creating a third sector on the main (eastern) side. All 3 are walkable within half a day. Our ship moored at “Otrabanda” ( = “the other side”) and we started there. This is the less “showy” and busy side and has a few pleasant buildings and quiet courtyards, but also has some undistinguished areas and an elevated road from the new bridge running through it, together with a large modern resort development at one end. The old Riffort which adjoins this has been turned into a restaurant and shopping arcade within the shell of its walls. The hotel has nice a/c and free …