Street art in Willemstad: where the painted walls are

Willemstad is known for the pastel facades along the Handelskade. What fewer people know is that a few streets further in, entire walls have been painted: hummingbirds three metres tall, flowers in colours you would not expect on a house, and portraits covering the full side of a building.

Where to go

Most of it is in Otrobanda, the district on the western side of St Anna Bay. Walk in from the Queen Emma Bridge and watch the side streets: the murals are rarely on the main road. Punda has several too, mostly around the Kaya Kaya area and Fleur de Marie.

There is no official route and no signage. That makes it better than it sounds: you turn a corner and there is another one.

When

Early morning or late afternoon. Around midday the sun sits directly above the facades, which means half of every wall falls into shadow and your photographs come to nothing. Before nine it is also still bearable temperature-wise, and you are on foot.

Where it came from

The paintings have appeared over the last few years, partly through neighbourhood projects aimed at smartening up empty buildings. Some are by local artists, some by people flown in. They get painted over and replaced, so what is there now is not necessarily what will be there in two years.

Practical

Otrobanda is fine to explore on foot during the day. Parking is easiest at the edge of the district, by the Rif Fort or along the Breedestraat, and you walk from there. Bring water: there is little shade and the streets are hard going.