Paramaribo, Suriname

Evergreen city guide with quick facts, travel, business, and culture.

SurinameParamaribo

Overview

Paramaribo is Suriname's tropical, riverside capital — a UNESCO-listed inner city of white-painted Dutch colonial wooden architecture, and one of the most harmoniously multicultural places on earth, where a synagogue stands beside a mosque and the food spans India, Java, China and the Caribbean.

UNESCO Wooden City

The white Dutch colonial timber inner city, the wooden cathedral, Fort Zeelandia and the Palmentuin.

Multicultural Harmony

The famous synagogue-beside-mosque, Hindu mandirs, churches and temples of an exceptionally diverse city.

Diverse Cuisine

Hindustani roti, Javanese nasi and bami, Creole pom and the lively Central Market.

Rainforest Gateway

The springboard to Suriname's pristine Amazon — Maroon villages, jungle lodges and nesting sea turtles.
Travel Overview

Paramaribo, the capital of Suriname on the bank of the Suriname River, is one of the most distinctive and least-visited capitals in South America — a humid, easygoing, Dutch-speaking tropical city whose historic centre is a remarkable survival of colonial timber architecture and whose population is among the most diverse and harmoniously mixed anywhere in the world. The historic inner city, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a grid of broad streets lined with elegant white-painted wooden buildings in a unique blend of Dutch colonial form and local materials and craftsmanship — among them the vast St Peter and Paul Cathedral, one of the largest wooden buildings in the Americas, the riverside Fort Zeelandia (the city's 17th-century birthplace, now a museum), the Presidential Palace and the leafy Palmentuin palm garden behind it. The city is famous for its religious and cultural coexistence: a synagogue and a mosque stand peacefully side by side on the same street, near Hindu mandirs, Catholic and Protestant churches and Chinese temples — a visible expression of the way Suriname's Hindustani (Indian), Javanese (Indonesian), Creole, Maroon, Chinese, Indigenous and Dutch communities live together. That mix makes the food exceptional and adventurous: roti and curry from Hindustani kitchens, nasi and bami and saoto soup from Javanese warungs, the Creole pom (a baked grated-tuber-and-chicken dish), Chinese cooking and fresh river fish, all eaten at the lively Central Market and the city's casual eateries. The Waterkant riverfront, the old Dutch wooden houses, the markets and the relaxed pace reward a wander, and Paramaribo is the gateway to Suriname's greatest treasure — the pristine Amazon rainforest of the interior, home to Maroon and Indigenous villages, the UNESCO Central Suriname Nature Reserve, jungle lodges, river journeys and the leatherback turtles of the Galibi coast. Paramaribo is hot and humid year-round; the drier seasons (roughly February to April and August to November) are the most comfortable, and the best times for trips into the rainforest.

Discover Paramaribo

Paramaribo's historic centre is its glory — a UNESCO World Heritage Site recognised for its unique fusion of Dutch colonial urban planning with local building traditions, expressed almost entirely in white-painted timber. Broad streets are lined with elegant wooden townhouses, their shuttered windows and verandas weathered by the tropical climate, and several landmark buildings stand out: the immense neo-Gothic St Peter and Paul Cathedral, among the largest wooden structures in the Americas, beautifully restored inside; the riverside Fort Zeelandia, the 17th-century fortress where the city began, now an excellent history museum; the white Presidential Palace facing Independence Square (Onafhankelijkheidsplein); and, behind it, the Palmentuin, a serene garden of towering royal palms. Wandering the inner city's quiet streets, especially in the cooler morning or golden evening light, is the essence of a Paramaribo visit — a colonial townscape unlike anywhere else in the Americas.

Frequently asked questions

Dutch nationals are a special case — they need neither a visa nor a tourist card and may stay up to 90 days. Citizens of most other visa-exempt countries (the rest of the EU, the UK, the US, Canada and others) also need no visa, but must buy an entry document (an e-tourist card / entry fee) online before departure, generally at least 72 hours ahead. Check your nationality's current requirement before booking; a yellow-fever vaccination certificate may also be required or recommended, especially for trips into the interior.

Two things stand out: its UNESCO-listed historic centre of white Dutch colonial wooden architecture — unlike anywhere else in the Americas — and its extraordinary, harmonious multicultural life, symbolised by a synagogue and mosque standing side by side. Add a wonderfully diverse food scene and the city's role as the gateway to Suriname's pristine Amazon rainforest, and this little-visited capital rewards the curious traveller looking well off the beaten path.

Suriname is hot and humid all year, just north of the equator. The drier seasons — roughly February to April and August to November — are the most comfortable for the city and, importantly, the best for trips into the rainforest interior, when river levels and trails are more favourable. The wetter months bring heavy tropical downpours. Whenever you go, plan for heat and humidity and carry rain protection.

Diplomatic missions in Paramaribo

1 embassy based in this city, grouped by region.