Making the most of Paramaribo
Use these notes to shape a realistic day ashore, then confirm any time-sensitive information for the date of your call.
Arriving at the port
Paramaribo’s port stands on the Suriname River.
The dock is close enough to reach town on foot.
A printable map to take with you.
Known as Par'bo, Paramaribo is Suriname’s capital and largest city. It stands on the banks of the Suriname River in the Paramaribo District and has roughly 250,000 residents.
In the Paramaribo district, the city on the Suriname River is approximately 15 km from the Atlantic Ocean, inland from it.
As Suriname’s 17th-century capital, Paramaribo has attractive Dutch, French, Spanish and British colonial architecture. Imposing brick buildings look over grassy squares, wooden houses fill narrow streets, tall palms shade parts of the city and mangroves still edge the riverside.
Mosques and synagogues stand side by side as Javanese vendors sell satay and Dutch-speaking Creoles drink beer at pavement cafés. The heart of central Paramaribo is the Onafhankelijksplein (Unity Square), which fronts the Presidential Palace. Directly behind the palace lies the Palmentuin, an attractive park of tall palms inhabited by tropical birds. East of this is Fort Zeelandia, a 17-century riverside fortification used to detain and torture political prisoners after the 1980 coup.
Food and shopping
Waterkrant, the riverside boulevard, is home to the main market; ferries to Meerzog on the far side of the river depart nearby.
Money
On 1 January 2004, the Surinam Dollar superseded the Surinam Guilder as the new monetary system. It is tied to the US Dollar. Since the currency’s inception, the government has maintained a relatively stable SRD exchange rate of around S$2.7 per US Dollar. Only the Central Bank can exchange Surinamese banknotes.
Staying connected
Dutch is official, while English is widely spoken.
The alarm number is 115.
Opening Hours and
Shopping hours are Mon-Fri 0730-1630 and Sat 0730-1300.