Willemstad the Capital of Curaçao

The main tourist area of Curaçao is the most beautiful city in the Caribbean. Maintained by oil profits and tourism dollars gives the Dutch colony an advantage in being able to maintain their capital city of Willemstad. A few streets and buildings around the entrance to the harbour are impeccable.

The Queen Emma Bridge, a pedestrian swing bridge connects one side of the city to the other. It was built in 1888 and in the past allowed cars but charged a toll for everyone to cross. Interestly enough if you crossed barefoot, a toll was not required.

They built the much more modern Queen Juliana Bridge in the 1970s which drastically reduced travel times around the bay. Curaçao is very developed and there are frequent traffic jams so being able to get around quickly is a must. The bridge is high enough so ocean going vessels can pass beneath it.

I prefer the swing bridge, it's a floating bridge that is one of the main attractions in Willemstad. People sit along the shores in cafes and watch the bridge swing. While it opens they run a ferry for passengers who are in a hurry to cross.

The patios in the city were packed on a Friday night. You can see the swing bridge is open as the large ship is headed out to sea. We were waiting for a friend, @donald.porter while watching time pass by.

One would think they are in Europe with a scene like this- technically speaking it's part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. We couldn't help ourselves but to stop for a drink and a bite to eat.

A surprising selection of beers are brewed on the island. Montana which is an odd name for a beer from an island devoid of mountains was quite delicious. Curaçao is not a cheap island, so be prepared to drop some cash when you visit.

Duty free shopping and gambling is big here, Annabay is a famous liquor store and there are side streets full of high end shops. This side of the bay is called Punda, Otrobanda is pictured below.

This is the main square of Otrobanda where the colony was founded by the Dutch West India company in 1634. It always amazes me how much older this part of the world is than Canada or most of USA. While they were building cathedrals and fortresses out of stone, early European-Canadians were living in wooden huts.

This is a Rif Fort which has been converted into a mall. They had some great restaurants and cute shops here. A lot of effort has been put into making Willemstad a tourists paradise. This is a close walk to the main cruise terminal.

It's much better to go out in the evenings. Curaçao is ridiculously hot during the day and a few minutes out in the sun makes one long for a cool beverage and some shade.

We stayed here for a drink, enjoyed some live music and good company. Curaçao is all about meeting up with friends. We know some couples who spend the winters here and they love it. There is always something happening in the city and there are some huge parties happening on nearby Mambo beach a few nights a week.

I'm sure we will be back to Curaçao if not just to spend a weekend before heading over to Aruba or Bonaire. The weather is always hot and few if any hurricanes ever pass by. Hope you enjoyed Willemstad and thank you for reading.

All photos were taken with an S22 or iPhone 15 pro and are unfiltered

Previous post about our trip to the rest of Curaçao.