Oranjestad, Aruba

View of the main street in Oranjestad, capital of Aruba
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aruba_Oranjestad_MainStreet.jpg
Author: Set1536


Oranjestad is the capital and largest city in Aruba. The city is located on the western part of the island. It has a population of 35,000 people and is the main town in Aruba.

Oranjestad traces its history to Fort Zoutman, which was built in 1796. Oranjestad developed as the settlement around the fort. In the beginning, the area was known after the surrounding bay, which was Paardenbaai, meaning "bay of horses" in Dutch. It was only later that the town was named Oranjestad, after William of Orange-Nassau.

Today Oranjestad has grown into another cruise ship destination. Fort Zoutman is still around, and has been represerved as a local attraction. The town itself has pretty, colorfully painted Dutch colonial-era buildings. The main road, Lloyd G. Smith Boulevard, skirts the waterfront.

Royal Plaza Shopping Mall in Oranjestad
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mauna_Kea_from_Mauna_Loa_Observatory,_Hawaii_-_20100913.jpg
Author: Nula666

Visiting Oranjestad

Many people arrive on cruise ships. Alternatively, the Queen Beatrix International Airport (AUA) gets flights from Amsterdam, Atlanta, Baltimore, Bogotá, Bonaire, Boston, Caracas, Curaçao, Fort Lauderdale, Houston, Miami, Milan, New York-JFK, Orlando, Panama City and Toronto, among others. To explore, you can either rent a bike or a taxi to go around.

Places of Interest in Oranjestad

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Hello and thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy and my hobby is in describing places so that I can share the information with the general public. My website has become the go to site for a lot of people including students, teachers, journalists, etc. whenever they seek information on places, particularly those in Malaysia and Singapore. I have been doing this since 5 January 2003, for over twenty years already. You can read about me at Discover Timothy. By now I have compiled information on thousands of places, mostly in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and I continue to add more almost every day. My goal is to describe every street in every town in Malaysia and Singapore.