Scharloo, Curaçao: Merchant Mansions and Murals

Why Go

Scharloo sits across the Waaigat from Punda and is where nineteenth-century merchant families built the biggest houses in Willemstad — deep verandas, plaster ornament, colours that have not calmed down in a century. For decades much of it stood empty. What has happened since is the interesting part: the lower end has filled with murals, the mansions are being restored one at a time, and the district has become the part of the city people walk to see rather than through. It is a walking neighbourhood, not a beach one, and it works best as a morning on foot from Punda.

The Experience

You come over the water from Punda and the scale changes immediately. Where Punda is dense shopfronts on narrow streets, Scharloo is broad avenues with individual houses set back behind railings, some immaculately restored, some with trees growing out of them, often next door to each other. Scharloo Abou, the lower end nearest the water, is where the street art is concentrated, several storeys high on gable walls and worth a slow circuit rather than a quick look. Further up, Landhuis Bloemhof is a cultural centre with gardens and exhibitions, and the Mongui Maduro Historic House Museum preserves one of the old family houses intact. The houses themselves are the running argument for the walk: the elaborate ones have earned nicknames over the years for their plasterwork, and half the pleasure is spotting which of the wrecks has scaffolding on it this year and which is still waiting. It is quiet on foot, genuinely residential, and it is not a nightlife district — the evening happens back over the bridges in Punda and Pietermaai.

What to Try

Walk it, and start early before the heat. The murals of Scharloo Abou are the reason most people come and reward an unhurried loop of the side streets rather than one photograph from the main road. Landhuis Bloemhof cultural center gives you the art and the garden, and the Mongui Maduro Historic House Museum gives you the inside of a merchant house rather than just its facade. For food, Java Café Curaçao is the reliable stop mid-walk, De Heeren @ sea puts you by the water, The Lemon Tree Curaçao and Arepas House cover lunch, and Fork N Knife and Sprinkles handle the informal end. Mangusa Supermarket and MultiMart are the practical shopping if you are self-catering, and Lara Bonomo Gallery is the small contemporary end of the district's art. Combine the morning with Punda across the water and you have the whole historic city in one day on foot, which is how most people who enjoy Willemstad end up doing it.

Insider Tip

Cross on foot and take the long way round the Waaigat rather than driving in. Scharloo is a fifteen-minute walk from the middle of Punda and the streets are the attraction, so arriving by car and parking outside one mural misses almost all of it. Go in the morning: the light is better on the painted walls, the heat is manageable, and the district is at its quietest.

The Practical Stuff

Scharloo is part of Willemstad, on the far side of the Waaigat inlet from Punda, connected by bridge and about fifteen minutes on foot from the shopping streets. Hato airport is roughly fifteen minutes away by road. On-street parking exists and the district is easy to drive in compared with Punda, but the point of coming is walking. It is residential, so ordinary city sense applies and it is quieter after dark than the tourist streets; most visitors come during the day and eat elsewhere in the evening. Papiamentu and Dutch are the local languages with English widely spoken, driving is on the right, and Curaçao sits outside the main hurricane belt, so the season is far less of a factor here than further east.

Common Questions

What is Scharloo known for?

Nineteenth-century merchant mansions and, more recently, large-scale street art in the lower part of the district known as Scharloo Abou. It is a walking neighbourhood in Willemstad rather than a beach or nightlife area.

Is Scharloo walkable from Punda?

Yes — about fifteen minutes on foot around the Waaigat, and walking is how the district is meant to be seen. Driving in and parking beside one mural misses most of what makes it worth the trip.

Where is the street art in Curaçao?

Concentrated in Scharloo Abou, the lower end of Scharloo nearest the water, with several large murals on gable walls. Otrobanda across the harbour has its own painted streets and the two are often walked on the same day.

Is Scharloo safe to walk around?

It is an ordinary residential district and most visitors walk it in the morning without difficulty. Usual city sense applies, and it is quiet after dark, when the evening moves back to Punda and Pietermaai.

Should you stay in Scharloo?

It suits someone who wants to be in Willemstad, walk to Punda and skip the resorts. It does not suit a beach holiday, since the beaches are a ten-minute drive east or a longer one west.

How long do you need in Scharloo?

A morning. An unhurried loop of the murals, the mansions, Landhuis Bloemhof and lunch fills two or three hours, and most people combine it with Punda on the same day.

Pair It With

Landhuis Bloemhof cultural center — The garden and the exhibitions, halfway through the walk.
Mongui Maduro Historic House Museum — One merchant house preserved rather than restored.
Java Café Curaçao — The stop that breaks up a morning on foot.