Your Guide to Curaçao: Art, Food, and Beaches in the Dutch Caribbean

I scrunched the soft white sand between my toes and gazed out over the turquoise waters lapping Grote Knip, one of Curaçao’s most lauded beaches. I slipped into the warm waters and simply floated, thinking, “How lucky am I?”

It’s the experience we all want when we visit a Caribbean island. Gentle waves, azure waters, beautiful sandy beaches, time to simply relax. But however wonderful the beaches and the sea are, when I visit an island, I also want storied history, a thriving cultural scene and richly varied culinary offerings—and that’s why my niece Alyssa and I chose to visit Curaçao this past October. Well, that and its location outside the hurricane zone. As we flew out of Philadelphia International, weather reports were focused on a hurricane in the Atlantic, but we knew we were in the clear.

Lying in the Caribbean Sea about 40 miles from Venezuela, Curaçao is part of the kingdom of the Netherlands, though it is primarily self-governing. Settled by Arawak Indians from Venezuela, the island was first colonized by the Spanish and then the Dutch and fought over by the British and the French. Portuguese Jews settled here for religious freedom. Africans played a central role in the island’s cultural foundation, having been brought to Curaçao through the transatlantic slave trade. Some 55 different ethnicities now reside here. Many Curaçaoans speak four languages: Papiamentu, a language rooted in Curaçao’s African heritage; Dutch; English and Spanish.

The island’s artistic side

Wanting a taste of city life, we stayed for the first two days of our four-night stay at the luxury boutique Art Hotel Curaçao in the lively Pietermaai section of Willemstad, the island’s capital. The modern oceanfront hotel, which backs a historic façade, features original local artwork in its public spaces and guest rooms, a perfect home base for us as we set out to explore the island’s artistic side.

On our first morning, we decided to tour Willemstad, a UNESCO World Heritage Site with more than 700 protected buildings, some dating to the 17th century. We could have explored on our own with the aid of the downloadable Historic Willemstad Architectural Walking Tour from Curaçao.com. But Alyssa and I thought it would be much more fun to zip around the city on a tuk tuk, a three-wheeled motorized vehicle. Our driver and guide took us past the city’s whimsical array of buildings in pastels and deep primary colors in architectural styles that reflect Dutch, Caribbean, African, Spanish and Portuguese influences.

Good to know

Your AAA Travel Advisor can help you book an art tour of Willemstad that includes visits to the island’s art galleries—and help you select a hotel that suits your desires, whether that’s time in the city, easy access to the beach, or both.

At our request, our tour also took us past a trove of public art, including Omar Sling’s metal sculpture of three bananaquits playing instruments in an avian band in Plaza Jo-Jo Correa. Elsewhere in the capital, we snapped photos of a mural of the smiling face of a young girl and of an underwater scene complete with King Triton and a mermaid. We saw depictions of flowers and iguanas and beautiful women as well as the city’s newly unveiled LGBTQ+ mural. Other works honor fallen heroes like Tula, an enslaved man who was executed after leading a rebellion in 1795, riding triumphantly on a sturdy horse. 

Some of the artworks were hidden in neighborhoods and tucked away in corners, and we never would have found them without a guide. We were glad, too, that we had a guide the following day to take us to a handful of the estimated 20 art galleries on the island. There’s no comprehensive listing of them anywhere that we could find.

At 7.1 Experience, the eponymous gallery of Giovanni Abath—who signs his work as 7.1, representing the numerical position of his initials in the alphabet—Abath himself gave us a tour explaining the inspiration for his steel sculptures, including a grouping that addressed how to live in a world that wants to control and divide us.

We also visited Herman van Bergen’s Cathedral of Thorns, a building-size labyrinth composed of metal frames covered entirely with 92 million acacia tortuosa thorns.
The cathedral comments on humans’ search for meaning, and as we walked through the corridors, we noticed representations of the world’s religions—such as archways that looked like entryways to Grecian temples, mosques, Christian churches and so on—and the many niches filled with works by guest artists. The unusual shape of the top of the cathedral, we learned, was inspired by a rock formation on the island known as “The Indian” and is an ode to the island’s first inhabitants.

The Cathedral of Thorns is on the property of the 1735 Landhuis Bloemhof—once the home of 20th-century sculptor May Henriquez, a pioneer of the Curaçaoan art scene—where we also took an excellent tour of what remains of the former water plantation (drinking water was once was scarce on this volcanic island) and Henriquez’s well-preserved studio and library. The landhuis (manor) itself showcases a rotating series of works by either Curaçaoan or foreign artists with a connection to the island.

Culinary excellence

The cuisine is a work of art at The Lemon Tree restaurant at the Art Hotel. The five-course chef’s tasting menu presented by executive chef/co-owner Valentijn Bergers of the Netherlands and his local chefs marries Dutch techniques with Curaçaoan flavors and traditions to bring wholly original dishes to the table.

From the amuse-bouche of red and white beets with dragon fruit and moringa flowers—the last celebrating the “miracle tree of Curaçao,” known for its abundance and vitality—to the entrée of cured striploin with rich jus de veau with a hint of chocolate, an ode to Curaçao’s barbecue tradition, to the dessert of coconut mousse with pineapple and passion fruit, chocolate crumble and pineapple–pink pepper sorbet, inspired by a local chef’s mother’s recipe, we were continually amazed at how the island flavors gave the dishes a unique flavor profile
that seemed so utterly perfect.

For breakfast on our final morning at the Art Hotel, Alyssa and I both tried Curaçaoan pumpkin pancakes, which we later learned are more commonly eaten by locals as an afternoon snack, sans any topping.

After snorkeling one day at Tugboat Beach, we stopped for lunch at Briso Do Mar at lovely Caracasbaai Beach. I ate up every bit of my fish tacos, while Alyssa savored the Prego sandwich—beef tenderloin with pesto mayo on Portuguese bread. We both relished gazing out at the aquamarine waters.

While we were off exploring the west side of the island on another day, we pulled over at a roadside snack shop to taste another island favorite: li (pronounced lee). The frozen treat made from coconut milk, condensed milk, and sugar was creamy and icy and full of flavor. Ours was straight-up coconut, but they often come in fruit flavors as well.

We toasted our final evening in Curaçao with dinner at Grand Café Gouverneur de Rouville, a restaurant with indoor and outdoor dining at the former home of a 19th-century governor of Curaçao. The menu includes both local and international dishes with a Caribbean twist. Alyssa and I both thought the Cuban banana soup was to-die for.

. . . . .

While I want more than the beach when I visit the Caribbean, I want the beach, too, of course. And so, Alyssa and I spent our final two nights at the 336-guest room Curaçao Marriott Beach Resort to get in easy beach time at our hotel. And that we did. We dipped our toes in the water, relaxed in the lounge chairs, and even fell asleep late one afternoon to the sound of the gentle waves. Were we lucky? Indeed.