Willemstad / Henk's guide

Willemstad

By Henk

first visit 1985 · 15 visits to Willemstad · last in 2026

Words and photographs

He has visited at least half the countries in the world. About Henk →

A photograph accompanying this guide to Willemstad

View of Handelskade Willemstad · Photo: Henk

Willemstad is not a city you need to wear out over many days. You can understand its compact historic centre in one well-planned day; after that, use the city as a pleasant base for beaches, swimming, snorkelling, diving, country houses and the open west coast of Curaçao.

Its appeal lies in light and colour: the yellow Fort Amsterdam, still the seat of Curaçao's government; the bright façades of the Handelskade; Venezuelan boats with fruit and vegetables; the grand merchants' houses of Schaarloo; and the island art that turns those same colours into something you can take home. The city changes with the light: clear morning light in Punda, hard colour and shadow in Schaarloo, softer late-afternoon light in Otrobanda and, finally, the evening glow over the Sint Annabaai.

Willemstad is a UNESCO World Heritage Site under the full name Historic Area of Willemstad, Inner City and Harbour, Curaçao, inscribed in 1997. You will find more information at the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and at Curaçao Monuments.

The crowds concentrate in Punda, especially around the Handelskade, Fort Amsterdam, the Queen Emma Bridge and the shopping streets. Start before 10.00, then walk on through Punda to Schaarloo, stay on this side for lunch and the Maritime Museum, and cross to Otrobanda only once, in the late afternoon. Check the cruise schedule just before you set out: one large ship can noticeably change the atmosphere in the compact centre.

The calm city day: Fort Amsterdam → Handelskade → Nena Sanchez Gallery and Chichi Shop → Schaarloo → Plasa Bieu → Curaçao Maritime Museum → Queen Emma Bridge or ferry → Otrobanda → Gouverneur de Rouville.

Quick planner

• Do you have one full day? Follow the route from Punda to Otrobanda. Do not add beaches or Westpunt to the same day.

• Is a cruise ship in? Visit Punda before 10.00; then choose Schaarloo and the Maritime Museum. The Handelskade and the approach to the bridge get busier later.

• Is it hot or raining? Use Plasa Bieu and the Maritime Museum as shady and indoor stops. Avoid long walks outdoors around midday.

• Do you have a free evening? Go for an aperitif or dinner in Otrobanda. Punda is lively on Thursday evenings, but not calm.

• Do you have two or three days? Plan one city day and use the rest of your time for the beach, snorkelling, diving or the west coast. Do not turn Punda into a full day's programme again.

How long to stay

• One day: walk the historic centre from Punda to Otrobanda. Keep the route walkable and finish by the bay.

• Two days: add one beach or snorkelling day. Choose one bay or one stretch of coast, rather than ticking off several beaches.

• Three days: add Shete Boka, country houses or diving. Keep one day flexible for weather and wind.

• Four days or longer: use Willemstad as your evening base. Do not over-plan the city; the added value then lies mainly in combining it with the rest of Curaçao.

Punda in the morning: Fort Amsterdam and the colours of the harbour

Start at Fort Amsterdam, the yellow fort that is still the seat of Curaçao's government. The yellow walls, the church, the offices and the position beside the harbour make it the best starting point for understanding Willemstad. For me it is not just a historic building: I once worked there, so it feels less like a monument and more like a place where Curaçao is still governed.

Then walk to the Handelskade and the edge of the Sint Annabaai. In the early morning the row of façades is still part of a working harbour, not a queue for photographs. Look at the Venezuelan boats with fruit and vegetables, the Queen Emma Bridge and the colours of painted hulls, crates, market produce and reflections on the water.

Do not stay here all morning. The Handelskade is the opening scene; after that you walk on into Punda. As soon as cruise passengers and shoppers arrive, head for Schaarloo rather than lingering along the waterfront.

Colour to take home: Nena Sanchez and Chichi

For me, the work of the late Curaçaoan artist Nena Sanchez is as characteristic of the island as the painted façades. Her brightly coloured scenes of island houses, women, fish and Caribbean light turn familiar images of Curaçao into a visual language all her own. In Punda there is still a Nena Sanchez Gallery where her work is sold, at Windstraat 15.

Close by, at Windstraat 16, is the Chichi Shop Punda. The hand-painted Chichi figures are not unique to Willemstad, but their colour, humour and self-assured Caribbean character suit the city well. I could not resist buying one myself.

Treat both as short stops, not as a shopping detour. They belong at this point in the route because they carry the colour theme of the harbour and the façades on into painting and craft.

Sources Henk used: curacao.com · chichi-curacao.com

Schaarloo: grand houses and strong colours

Schaarloo is the architectural highlight away from the waterfront. The former merchants' houses are larger, wider and more richly detailed than the famous façades on the Handelskade. Ochre, pink, blue, green and terracotta, verandas, broad steps and decorative details take on something almost theatrical in the Caribbean sun.

Here Willemstad shows colour in a different way. In Punda the colours form a compact wall of façades on the water; in Schaarloo the houses stand further apart and you see the old wealth of the port city at the scale of a family home. Pick a few strong façades and do not try to walk every street.

Murals around Bitterstraat and Parke Leyba give the district a modern layer, but they are not the main reason to come. Street Art Skálo documents the artworks in Schaarloo Abou.

Source Henk used: scharlooabou.com

Lunch at Plasa Bieu

Walk back to the edge of Punda for lunch at Plasa Bieu, the covered Old Market on De Ruyterkade. This is a local Krioyo lunch hall, not a restaurant you book.

Look into the pots, ask what is being cooked that day and choose, for example, keshi yena, kabritu stobá, fish, stews or snacks with plantain.

Go early. Plasa Bieu is above all a lunch place, popular dishes can run out and the individual kitchens sometimes keep different hours. It is a practical stop between Schaarloo and the Maritime Museum: local food, shade and no detour.

Curaçao Maritime Museum: the harbour explained

After lunch, go to the Curaçao Maritime Museum. Here the harbour you saw that morning gets its context: ships, trade routes, navigation, bridges and Curaçao's Caribbean connections. The museum makes clear why Willemstad grew up around this very bay.

Use it as the indoor part of the day, when the sun is at its strongest. Allow about an hour to an hour and a half. Check the current opening days and times before you go.

A harbour tour from the museum is special when it is offered, because you see the Queen Emma Bridge, the Handelskade, Fort Amsterdam and the wider harbour from the water. This tour was recently listed as temporarily unavailable, so confirm directly with the museum whether it is actually running on your Saturday or other day of visit.

Source Henk used: curacaomaritime.com

Check crowd forecasts for your dates →

Otrobanda: colour at street level

Cross the Sint Annabaai only after the Maritime Museum. In the late afternoon, walk from the Punda side to the Queen Emma Bridge; when the bridge opens for shipping, take the free ferry. It is a short harbour experience, not a delay. On the Otrobanda side, look back first: the Handelskade, Fort Amsterdam, the bridge and the bay form one complete view of the city from here.

Then walk along Breedestraat, one of Otrobanda's main streets, to the Colorful Steps on Van Lennepstraat. Continue via Charlotte Street and the neighbouring streets towards Kurá Hulanda. The colour here is less formal than in Schaarloo: painted steps, murals, old houses and ordinary streets run into one another.

Street art is part of the route here, not the whole point. In Schaarloo the art is a modern note beside the merchants' houses; in Otrobanda it belongs to the Kaya Kaya neighbourhood movement.

Source Henk used: kayakaya.org

One sunset, one view: Gouverneur de Rouville

Walk back to the bay via Rif Fort and take a short look across the water. Do not make this a second sunset spot. The end point is Gouverneur de Rouville in Otrobanda. Come before sunset for an aperitif and stay for dinner if you have booked a table.

First the low light warms the yellow of Fort Amsterdam and deepens the colours of the Handelskade. Then the façades soften, the Queen Emma Bridge becomes a dark line across the water and the bay slowly turns to evening light. This is the right end to the day: you started beside the colourful harbour façades and now see them from the other side.

Book on a Friday or Saturday evening and ask for a table by the bay if that matters to you. Check opening times and booking conditions shortly before your visit.

Source Henk used: de-gouverneur.com

Day trips worth the journey

Westpunt: water, swimming and snorkelling

Choose a full day for Westpunt if you want clear bays, swimming and snorkelling. The north-west coast is a better choice than trying to add a beach after a morning in Willemstad. Leave early, pick one main bay and add at most one extra stop.

A hire car or a reliable transfer is the most practical. Take water and sun protection, and do not drive back late if you do not know the roads. The aim is time in the water, not a long checklist of beaches.

Shete Boka National Park

Choose Shete Boka for a rugged coast, sea spray, rock formations and the dry landscape of the north coast. This is not a swimming day. Go early, wear closed shoes and take enough water.

The park has little shade and can be windy, but it is a strong contrast with Willemstad's sheltered bay and the calm bays of the west coast. Check the current information before you go.

Source Henk used: shetebokapark.org

Country houses and the interior

Historic country houses link the wealth you see in Willemstad's merchants' houses with Curaçao's agricultural and colonial past. Choose one or two houses that are genuinely open to visitors and combine them with a nearby beach or nature area.

Do not use them only as colourful photo locations. Their history includes colonial ownership and systems of labour; that context is part of a visit. For this route you will usually need a car. Check access and opening times in advance.

Food and drink

Use food to support the route. Plasa Bieu is the local, informal lunch stop; Gouverneur de Rouville is the evening address because the view is part of the experience.

Save Pietermaai for another evening, rather than adding the district to this already complete city day.

Look for keshi yena, kabritu stobá, fish, pastechi and snacks with plantain. Eat early if you want a quieter table. A long list of restaurants is not needed in a city you experience best through one coherent day.

Where to stay

Choose Punda for direct access to the historic centre and early-morning walks, Otrobanda for a quieter historic atmosphere, or Pietermaai if restaurants and nightlife matter more than being close to the main sights. Do not choose on a view of the Handelskade alone if you will spend most days outside the city.

Kurá Hulanda Village & Spa is a strong base in Otrobanda, among restored historic buildings.

Avila Beach Hotel offers a stay on the water, closer to Pietermaai.

Baoase Luxury Resort suits a secluded, beach-focused holiday better.

Sources Henk used: kurahulandavillage.com · avilabeachhotel.com · baoase.com

Useful before you go

UNESCO World Heritage Centre: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/819/

Curaçao Monuments: https://curacaomonuments.org/unesco-world-heritage/

Curaçao Tourism — Punda: https://www.curacao.com/en/activity/district-punda

Curaçao Tourism — Otrobanda: https://www.curacao.com/en/activity/district-otrobanda