Willemstad

Willemstad's Handelskade waterfront is one of the most photographed stretches of colonial architecture in the Caribbean, a row of narrow Dutch gabled buildings painted in saturated pinks, yellows, blues, and oranges. According to a frequently repeated island legend, a 19th-century governor blamed the glare from the original white facades for his migraines and ordered the harbor front repainted in color — whether or not the story is entirely accurate, the tradition of brightly painted buildings has stuck for generations, and UNESCO recognized the historic center as a World Heritage Site in 1997.

The Queen Emma Bridge, a pedestrian pontoon bridge floating directly on the harbor water, connects the Handelskade side of the city, Punda, to the Otrobanda district across the channel. It swings open regularly to let ships in and out of the harbor, at which point a free passenger ferry takes over until the bridge swings back into place — a small piece of everyday harbor logistics that's also become one of the city's more distinctive sights.

Curaçao's position close to the Venezuelan coast, well south of the main Caribbean hurricane track, sets it apart from many of its Caribbean neighbors and makes it a comparatively reliable choice during the region's official hurricane season, when islands further north carry real storm risk.

The island also gave its name to Blue Curaçao, the vividly colored orange liqueur, originally made from the dried peel of the laraha citrus fruit, a bitter local variant of the Valencia orange that adapted to the island's arid soil after being introduced by Spanish settlers. The original distillery still operates near Willemstad and offers tours and tastings.

As part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands rather than an independent nation, Curaçao also has its own distinct local language, Papiamento, a Portuguese- and Spanish-rooted creole blended with Dutch, English, and West African influences, spoken alongside Dutch and English throughout the island.