Curaçao has been a major trade center for hundreds of years so it’s not surprising that stores are stocked with quality items from around the world. It’s hard to beat Willemstad for shopping ambiance. You bargain hunt in exquisite, centuries-old buildings while ocean liners cruise up the channel that cuts through the city, so close you could almost touch them.
Punda is the city’s commercial center, with several upscale boutiques selling fashionable designer clothing, perfumes, imported linens and expensive jewelry. There are many small shops with a wide variety of merchandise, from electronics to souvenirs and bargain clothing. Heerenstraat and Madurostraat are wide pedestrian malls, closed to motor traffic. Otrobanda's main shopping street, Breedestraat/Roodeweg, is bustling, particularly on Saturday mornings.
The museum Kura Hulanda is situated right at he city-center harbor of Willemstad, in a place where Dutch entrepreneurs once traded and transshipped African slaves along with other 'commercial goods'. This museum impressively exhibits the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade in its totality, from slave capture in Africa through the Middle Passage and relocation in the New World. The Kurá Hulanda Museum was founded by Dr. Jacob Gelt Dekker and opened its doors to the public on April 20th, 1999.
Africa | Asia | Caribbean | Central America | Europe | Middle East | North America | Oceania | South America
