The vibrant city of WILLEMSTAD, full of colorful colonial architecture, is the hub of activity in Curacao. It's a cosmopolitan place, with enough cultural attractions, shopping and places to eat to satisfy those looking for an alternative to a typical beach vacation. Set alongside the southeastern coast and divided by a narrow, but deep channel, known as Santa Anna Bay, downtown Willemstad is split into two main districts - Punda on the east side and Otrobanda to the west. The former, with its gorgeous waterfront lined with elaborate eighteenth-century buildings and gingerbread mansions, is a distinctly Dutch settlement, home to boutiques, shops, museums and street-side cafés. Across the channel, Otrobanda, literally meaning "the other side" in Papiamentu, is in the midst of having its core restored to its former glory, when business was thriving along its narrow streets.
Both sides are eminently walkable, and make for memorable wandering. They are linked by two bridges: the fifty-metre-high Queen Juliana Bridge - a four-lane highway towering above the harbour, and the Queen Emma Pontoon Bridge - a floating pedestrian bridge that swings open for passing ships and boats. Another district, the old Jewish neighborhood of Scharloo , is north of Punda, as is Schottegat , a large inland body of water connected to Santa Anna Bay, where many of the oil refineries and dockyards are located.
The Dutch settled the city as a naval base in 1643, and built military strongholds to defend the naturally deep channel and harbor. As the economy flourished and attracted many Dutch and Jewish merchants, construction proceeded apace, with mansions built for the wealthy and new districts being created, though much fell into disrepair with Curaçao's economic downturn in the nineteenth century
The City
The most remarkable and central of all landmarks in Willemstad is the Queen Emma Pontoon Bridge, which floats between the two central districts. Designed by US businessman Leonard B. Smith in 1888, it was designed to be able to swing open for boats entering the harbor - which it still does around thirty times a day. Back then, Smith charged 2¢ per person for anyone wearing shoes while allowing free access to those who walked across barefoot; no such restrictions apply today. Today crossing the bridge is free to all regardless of their footwear, or lack of it.
Across the pontoon bridge to the east, the scenic waterfront along the bustling street of Handelskade in Punda is the most photographed spot in all of Curacao. Lined with centuries-old pastel-colored buildings and a string of cafés, this is the best place in the city to start a walking tour. Many of the buildings found along here have been renovated into government offices, banks, shops and restaurants (the red tiles seen on the roofs of these buildings originally came from Europe as ships' ballast). One of the best examples of traditional architecture is right across from the pontoon bridge at the multilevel Penha & Sons, a canary-yellow shop decorated with elaborate white gables, built in 1708. Close at hand is Punda's main shopping district, bounded by Handelskade, Madurostraat and Breedestraat.
Just south of the busy main street of Breedestraat is the large Fort Amsterdam complex, one of the first military strongholds built on the island in 1635 by the Dutch West Indies Company. Today, the restored fort seats the government of the Netherlands Antilles and other government offices. If you look closely you can still see a British cannonball embedded in one of its walls (the result of a brief skirmish between the Dutch and British in the early 1800s). Around the corner is the ren-ovated Protestant Fort Church , the oldest church in Curaçao (built in 1769). Inside, a museum (Mon-Fri 9am-noon & 2-5pm; US$2) holds an interesting collection of historical artefacts, documents and maps.
The remains of the island's original fort, Waterfort , are located near the mouth of Santa Anna Bay, a block south of Fort Amsterdam. Built in 1634 and renovated two hundred years later, this fort was used by the US army as a military base during World War II (a steel net was dragged across the mouth of the bay to prevent German submarines from entering the deep harbour). A series of stone waterfront arches , once used to store gunpowder, are located east of the fort along the waterfront and today house several seaside restaurants.
Situated in the heart of Punda, the Mikvé Israel-Emanuel Synagogue , on Hanchi Snoa at Columbusstraat, is one of the Caribbean's most important landmarks and certainly the oldest synagogue still in use in the western hemisphere. Members of the original Jewish community who came here from Europe dedicated the synagogue in 1732. The white sand sprinkled on the floor is said to honour Moses' leading of his people through the desert. Tucked inside is the Jewish Cultural Museum (Mon-Fri 9-11.45am & 2.30-4.45pm, Sun 9am-noon; US$2), where you can view an impressive array of Torah scrolls, Hanukah lamps and other religious artefacts.
If you're up at the crack of dawn it's worth a visit to the floating market , which lines the canal beside Sha Carpileskade in the northern corner of Punda. Every morning small wooden boats loaded with fresh tropical fruits and vegetables make their way from Venezuela to sell their produce in Willemstad; they typically leave by noon. A few other sights exist nearby, including the popular Marshe Bieu (old market), behind the post office, where you can sample inexpensive local cuisine off open charcoal grills.
Directly across the water from the market, in the former Jewish district of Scharloo, you'll find the Maritime Museum (Tues-Sat 10am-4pm; US$5.50), which pays homage to Curaçao's rich seafaring history. Ship models, maps and coins from sunken treasures are on display. Nearby is the dock for the Flamingo Fast Ferry to Bonaire.
Across the channel and west of the pontoon bridge, Otrobanda has a couple attractions worth looking into. Its main street, Breedestraat (not to be confused with the street of the same name in Punda) runs perpendicular from the channel and is chock-full of small shops selling bargain clothing and souvenirs. Be sure to visit the Kura Hulanda Museum , just off Breedestraat to the north on Klipstraat 9 (Mon-Sat 10am-5pm; US$5), built in a restored nineteenth-century mansion, for its splendid selection of original art and artefacts from all over Africa. Several permanent exhibits, including one on the slave trade and one on human evolution, are also among the museum's highlights. Across town on the western outskirts of Otrobanda, the smaller Curaçao Museum, V Leeuwenhoekstraat (Mon-Fri 9am-noon & 2-5pm, Sun 10am-4pm; US$2.65), is home to a scant collection of traditional and contemporary local art and artefacts. |
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