CURACAO
On a clear day in Curaçao you can see Venezeula a few miles across the sea.
There's more than enough to see and do in this large, lively island that has for
centuries been a major cultural and trading crossroads.
The Dutch merchants who colonised the island and built the capital, Willemstad,
had the brightly-coloured houses and warehouses designed similar to their homes in Amsterdam.
| CAPITAL | Willemstad |
| POPULATION | 152,700 |
| CURRENCY | Netherlands Antilles guilder; US$ widely accepted |
| OFFICIAL LANGUAGES | Dutch and Papiamentu. Spanish and English also widely spoken |
| POLITICAL STATUS | member of the Netherlands Antilles |
| AREA | 171 square miles (443 square kilometres) |
| RELIGION | Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Muslim and many other denominations are represented |
| BUSINESS | Banks are open Monday to Friday, 8am-3.30pm. The airport bank is open Monday to Saturday 8am-8pm, and on Sunday 9am-4pm. The airport has a 24-hour cash dispenser. Some bank branches have ATMs with US dollars. The main banks are ABN-AMRO, Banco de Venezuela, Banco di Caribe, Banco industrial de Venezuela, Shops open from 8am-noon and 2-6pm or later if a cruise ship is in port. Payment cards accepted, |
