Willemstad is on the World Heritage List, and for good reason. The city contains many historic buildings and offers a view that nowhere in the world in this form can be found. Influences of Dutch architectural styles combined with the colors of the tropics have led to the characteristic cityscape on either side of the entrance to the natural harbor.
As a resident you tend to overlook this splendor. On May 9, 2012, I went to Punda with my camera, to see the city once again through the eyes of a tourist. Below are the results of this tourist walk from the parking place at the Waaigat, through the Breedestraat and the Heerestraat with a few excursions into the side streets.
It looks like Willemstad is situated next to a river; this is the Waaigat, a part of the natural harbor
Watermelons are being shipped to the floating market
The backside of the floating market
The head office of the Maduro & Curiels Bank in Punda
The Leonard B. Smith bridge, inaugurated on December 7, 2007
The other bridge over the Waaigat, the Wilhelmina bridge
Connection between Waaigat and the Annabay; on the other side Otrobanda (means "the other side")
Outside of the Waterfort; mooring will no longer happen here
Otrobanda as seen from the quay at the seaside of the Waterfort
The quay is regularly flooded; because of the algae it is slippery
The fort wall of the Waterfort with Otrobanda in the background
The outside wall of Fort Amsterdam
tree art next to the entrance of Fort Amsterdam
Monument for the support of the Netherlands Antilles during the war
The text on the monument in Dutch
The text on the monument in Papiamentu (local language)
The Breedestraat; to the left the Penha building, in the past Sociëteit de Gezelligheid
The Carillon on the wall of the former Spritzer & Fuhrmann building
Breedestraat, other side
The gable shows that this building is from 1754
This building is from 1900 as the next picture shows
The Heerenstraat (side street of the Breedestraat)
Don't forget to look up, otherwise you will miss these beautiful gables
The postal museum is in a side street of the Madurostreet
Recently these murals started to appear at several places
