---
title: "Top 10 Things To Do in Paramaribo, Suriname | Wimup"
description: "The 10 best things to do in Paramaribo, mapped and ranked. The wooden cathedral, Fort Zeelandia, the synagogue and mosque on Keizerstraat, the Central Market and the boat to Commewijne."
url: https://wimup.com/city/paramaribo
type: City guide
updated: 2026-10-06
publisher: Wimup (https://wimup.com)
---

# Top 10 Things To Do in Paramaribo

Paramaribo, Suriname · South America · By Wimup Editorial, 14 min read

Paramaribo is a grid of white timber houses on a tidal river, and the only Dutch-speaking capital in the Americas. Below are the ten things worth your time, each mapped, plus the temples, the tables and the boat across to the plantations.

## Quick answer

The best things to do in Paramaribo are the UNESCO-listed inner city on foot, Fort Zeelandia, the wooden cathedral, the synagogue and mosque side by side on Keizerstraat, and the Central Market. Three to four days adds Commewijne by boat and bicycle and a dolphin trip at dusk. Come in September and October, or February and March, for the dry seasons.

## Quick facts

- **Best months:** Sep · Oct · Mar
- **Ideal length:** 3–4 days
- **Budget per day:** $60–140
- **Language:** Dutch & Sranan Tongo
- **Getting around:** On foot, taxis and river boats
- **Tourism board:** [Official site](https://www.surinametourism.sr/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

## The 10 best things to do in Paramaribo

### 1. Walk the historic inner city

Old town · Waterkant and the streets behind it, Centrum

A seventeenth-century Dutch street plan filled with white-painted timber houses, UNESCO-listed since 2002. Start on the Waterkant, then work inland through Keizerstraat and the Kerkplein. Go in the morning, before the heat.

- **Time:** Half a day
- **Cost:** Free
- **Best at:** Early morning
- **Tip:** Start at the Waterkant and walk inland

Links: [UNESCO](https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/940/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 2. Fort Zeelandia and the Surinaams Museum

Fort & museum · Abraham Crijnssenweg 1, Paramaribo

The pentagonal brick fort where the colony began, on the riverbank at the end of the Waterkant. The Surinaams Museum fills it with colonial rooms and objects. It was also the site of the December murders of 1982, which the fort does not hide.

- **Time:** 1–2 hrs
- **Cost:** Paid entry
- **Best at:** Morning
- **Tip:** Eat at Baka Foto inside the walls

Links: [Website](https://www.surinaamsmuseum.net/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 3. Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral

Cathedral · Henck Arronstraat, Paramaribo

A neo-Gothic basilica finished in 1885 and built almost entirely of wood, one of the largest timber churches in the Americas. The unpainted cedar interior is the reason to come. Entry is free; donations fund the upkeep.

- **Time:** 30 min
- **Cost:** Free, donations welcome
- **Best at:** Weekday morning
- **Tip:** Look up at the carved vaults

### 4. Keizerstraat: synagogue and mosque

Street · Keizerstraat, Paramaribo

Neveh Shalom synagogue, rebuilt in 1843 with a sand floor, stands next door to a four-minaret mosque, and the two communities have shared the block for generations. It is the country's shorthand for itself. The synagogue opens by appointment.

- **Time:** 30–45 min
- **Cost:** Free from the street
- **Best at:** Weekday
- **Tip:** Arrange the synagogue in advance

Links: [Website](https://www.surinamejewishcommunity.com/synagogues?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 5. Central Market

Market · Waterkant, Paramaribo

Two floors on the river: fish, meat, fruit, sambals and a row of herbal medicine stalls downstairs, clothes and household goods above. It is open Monday to Saturday and at its best before noon. Carry small SRD notes.

- **Time:** 1 hr
- **Cost:** Free
- **Best at:** Before noon
- **Tip:** Closed on Sundays

### 6. Independence Square and the Presidential Palace

Square · Onafhankelijkheidsplein, Paramaribo

The palace of 1730, the brick Ministry of Finance of 1841 and the National Assembly frame one lawn. The palace opens to the public on Independence Day, 25 November. On Sunday mornings the square hosts twatwa songbird contests.

- **Time:** 45 min
- **Cost:** Free
- **Best at:** Sunday morning
- **Tip:** The birds compete from about 7:00

Links: [UNESCO](https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/940/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 7. Palmentuin

Garden · Van Roseveltkade, Paramaribo

A shaded grove of royal palms behind the palace, first planted under Governor van Sommelsdijck and opened to the public in 1685. Capuchin monkeys work the canopy. It is the coolest walk in the centre, best in daylight.

- **Time:** 30 min
- **Cost:** Free
- **Best at:** Late afternoon
- **Tip:** Coffee at Zus & Zo across the road

### 8. Cycle the Commewijne plantations

Day trip · Leonsberg ferry landing, Paramaribo

Take the small boat from Leonsberg across to Nieuw Amsterdam, rent a bike and ride the flat loop past Fort Nieuw Amsterdam, Frederiksdorp, Peperpot and the old Mariënburg sugar works. Start early and carry water.

- **Time:** Full day
- **Cost:** Boat, bike hire and entries
- **Best at:** Dry season
- **Tip:** Lunch at Frederiksdorp

Links: [Website](https://www.frederiksdorp.com/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 9. Dolphins at the river mouth at dusk

Boat trip · Leonsberg, Paramaribo

Late-afternoon boats run from Leonsberg to where the Suriname and Commewijne rivers meet, where Guiana dolphins feed before sunset. About three hours with a sundowner stop at a plantation. Book through a licensed operator.

- **Time:** 3 hrs
- **Cost:** Tour price
- **Best at:** Late afternoon
- **Tip:** Calm water gives the best sightings

Links: [Website](https://www.frederiksdorp.com/portfolio/dolphin-tour/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 10. Jodensavanne

Day trip · Jodensavanne, Para district

The brick ruins of the Beracha ve Shalom synagogue and the Cassipora creek cemetery, a Sephardic settlement upriver that UNESCO listed in 2023. About an hour by road, and best seen with a guide who can read the graves.

- **Time:** Full day
- **Cost:** Tour price
- **Best at:** Dry season
- **Tip:** Pair it with Redi Doti on the way

Links: [UNESCO](https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1680/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

## Best historic architecture in Paramaribo

The timber city UNESCO listed, and the brick buildings that survived its fires.

1. **The Waterkant** (UNESCO core · Free · Centrum): A riverfront row of merchants' houses, the postcard of the city.
2. **Presidential Palace** (Exterior · Free · Onafhankelijkheidsplein): The governor's house of 1730, open only on 25 November.
3. **Ministry of Finance** (Exterior · Free · Onafhankelijkheidsplein): Voigt's brick town hall of 1841, with a wooden clock tower.
4. **Centrumkerk** (Church · Exterior · Kerkplein): An octagonal Reformed church of 1835, rebuilt after the fire of 1821.
5. **Fort Zeelandia** (Museum · Paid entry · Waterkant): Five brick bastions on the river where the colony began. [Website](https://www.surinaamsmuseum.net/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
6. **Kwakoe** (Monument · Free · Zwartenhovenbrugstraat): Jozef Klas's freed man breaking his chains, unveiled in 1963.

## Best museums in Paramaribo

Four collections, from colonial rooms to contemporary Surinamese art.

1. **Surinaams Museum** (History · Paid entry · Fort Zeelandia): Colonial period rooms and objects inside Fort Zeelandia. [Website](https://www.surinaamsmuseum.net/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
2. **Numismatic Museum** (Coins and notes · Mr. F.H.R. Lim A Postraat): The Central Bank's money museum, parrot coin of 1679 included. [Website](https://www.cbvs.sr/over-cbvs/numismatisch-museum-cbvs?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
3. **Readytex Art Gallery** (Contemporary art · Free · Steenbakkerijstraat): Surinamese painting and carving, in a four-storey wooden house. [Website](https://www.readytexartgallery.com/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
4. **Het Koto Museum** (Costume · Centrum): The Creole koto dress, and the language of how it is tied.

## Best houses of worship in Paramaribo

Four faiths within walking distance, which is the city's own argument.

1. **Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral** (Catholic · Free · Henck Arronstraat): A wooden neo-Gothic basilica, finished in 1885.
2. **Neveh Shalom** (Jewish · By appointment · Keizerstraat): A Sephardic synagogue of 1843 with a sand floor. [Website](https://www.surinamejewishcommunity.com/synagogues?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
3. **Keizerstraat Mosque** (Muslim · Exterior · Keizerstraat): Four slender minarets, next door to the synagogue.
4. **Arya Diwaker Mandir** (Hindu · Modest dress · Johan Adolf Pengelstraat): The country's largest Hindu temple, octagonal and white, opened 2001.

## Best restaurants in Paramaribo

India, Java, China and the Creole kitchen, often on the same street.

1. **Roti Shop Joosje** (Hindustani · Casual · Zwartenhovenbrugstraat): The duck roti locals argue is the city's best.
2. **Roopram Roti** (Hindustani · Quick · Several branches): The other side of the roti argument, fast and takeaway.
3. **Sarinah** (Indonesian · Since 1974 · Verlengde Gemenelandsweg): Javanese since 1974, with a fourteen-dish rijsttafel.
4. **Baka Foto** (Surinamese fusion · Lunch and dinner · Fort Zeelandia): Inside Fort Zeelandia, with the river at your table.
5. **Garden of Eden** (Thai · Dinner · Virolastraat): Thai cooking under thatched carbets.
6. **Mirosso** (Indonesian · Casual · Paramaribo): Indonesian dishes with a Surinamese accent.
7. **Blauwgrond warungs** (Javanese · Cheap · Blauwgrond): The Javanese quarter, and saoto and bami at plastic tables.

## Best bars & cafes in Paramaribo

Where Parbo beer is poured, from the river to the hotel strip.

1. **'t Vat** (Bar · Late · Kleine Waterstraat): The long-running terrace for a cold Parbo and a game on screen.
2. **Zus & Zo** (Café · All day · Grote Combeweg): A grand café in a colonial house opposite the Palmentuin.
3. **De Waag** (Café-restaurant · Sunset · Waterkant): Riverfront drinks at the Waterkant as the light goes.
4. **Het Pannekoek & Poffertjes Cafe** (Café-bar · Casual · Hotel district): Pancakes by day, cocktails in the nightlife blocks by night.

## Best markets in Paramaribo

Three markets, three of the city's peoples.

1. **Central Market** (Mon to Sat · Mornings · Waterkant): Two floors on the river, food below and goods above.
2. **Maroon market** (Herbal · Cash · Saramaccastraat): Herbs and remedies brought down from the interior.
3. **Chinese Sunday market** (Sundays · Early · Centrum): Dumplings, produce and noodles on Sunday morning.

## Best day trips in Paramaribo

The plantations, the forest and the Jewish savannah, all within a day.

1. **Commewijne by bike** (Full day · From Leonsberg · Commewijne): Boat, bicycle and a flat loop of old plantations. [Website](https://www.frederiksdorp.com/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
2. **Peperpot Nature Park** (Half day · Paid entry · Meerzorg): Birding trails through a former coffee and cocoa estate.
3. **Fort Nieuw Amsterdam** (Half day · Paid entry · Nieuw Amsterdam): The 1734 fort at the river junction, now an open-air museum.
4. **Jodensavanne** (Full day · Guided · Para district): A Sephardic settlement and cemetery, UNESCO-listed in 2023. [Website](https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1680/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
5. **Brownsberg Nature Park** (Full day · 4WD · Brokopondo): A forest plateau and two waterfalls, about 130 km south. [Website](http://www.stinasu.sr/diensten/brownsberg?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
6. **Colakreek** (Half day · Weekends busy · Para district): A blackwater creek for swimming, near the airport.

## Festivals & annual events in Paramaribo (2026)

- **Chinese New Year** (Jan or Feb): A public holiday, with lion dances and the markets in the Chinese quarter at full stretch.
- **Phagwa** (March): Holi, thrown in coloured powder across the city and a public holiday.
- **Indian Arrival Day** (June 5): Marks the first indentured ship of 1873, with music and food.
- **Keti Koti** (July 1): Abolition in 1863, marked with the Bigi Spikri parade and at the Kwakoe statue.
- **Indigenous Peoples Day** (Aug 9): A public holiday for the country's first peoples.
- **Day of the Maroons** (Oct 10): Marks the peace treaties the Maroons forced on the colony.
- **Independence Day** (Nov 25): Independence in 1975, and the one day the palace opens its doors.
- **Owru Yari** (Dec 31): The pagara firecracker relay and the biggest street party of the year.

## Must-try dishes in Paramaribo, Suriname

- **Pom**: Grated pomtajer root baked with chicken and citrus. Every party has one.
- **Roti**: Soft flatbread with curried chicken, potato and long beans.
- **Saoto soep**: Javanese chicken soup with egg, sprouts and fried potato sticks.
- **Moksi alesi**: One-pot rice with beans and salted meat or fish.
- **Heri heri**: Cassava, plantain and salt fish, eaten on Keti Koti.
- **Bami**: Javanese fried noodles, as Surinamese as anything on this list.
- **Bakabana**: Battered fried plantain with peanut sauce, sold on every corner.
- **Pinda soep with tom tom**: Peanut soup with pounded plantain dumplings.

## Paramaribo transport & airports

- **Johan Adolf Pengel International** (PBM): The international airport at Zanderij, 45 km south of the city. Allow about an hour by road, and book a taxi or hotel pickup before you land. [Website](https://www.japi-airport.com/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- **Zorg en Hoop** (ORG): The domestic airfield inside the city. Light aircraft to the interior airstrips and reserves leave from here, usually as part of a lodge package.
- **Buses** (Bus): State buses and private minibuses leave from the Heiligenweg terminal for the coast road, Nickerie included. They go when full and fares are cash.
- **Taxis and river boats** (Car): Taxis are unmetered, so agree the fare first. Small boats cross from Leonsberg to Commewijne; the Jules Wijdenbosch Bridge, 1,504 m, carries the road.

## Paramaribo at a glance

- **Country:** Suriname
- **Region:** Paramaribo district
- **Population:** 240,924 in the district (2012 census)
- **Founded:** 1613 Dutch trading post, capital since 1650
- **Nickname:** Parbo
- **Language:** Dutch, with Sranan Tongo on the street
- **Currency:** Surinamese dollar (SRD)
- **Time zone:** SRT · UTC-3, no daylight saving
- **Calling code:** +597
- **Airports:** PBM · Johan Adolf Pengel, ORG · Zorg en Hoop
- **Power:** 127V and 220V · Type A/B/C/F
- **Emergency:** 115 police · 113 ambulance · 110 fire

## Interesting facts

- The Dutch took the city from the English in 1667, then kept Suriname and gave up New Amsterdam, now New York.
- The historic inner city has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2002.
- Neveh Shalom synagogue keeps a sand floor, and a mosque stands on the plot next door.
- Kwakoe means Wednesday in Kromanti: abolition fell on Wednesday, 1 July 1863.
- The Palmentuin opened to the public in 1685, then stayed closed from 1688 until the twentieth century.

## Watch

[Paramaribo on Foot](https://wimup.com/watch/paramaribo.md), 14:06

## Paramaribo travel FAQ

### How many days do you need in Paramaribo?

Three to four. One day covers the inner city, the fort and Keizerstraat on foot. A second goes to Commewijne by boat and bicycle, with the dolphins at dusk. Add a day for Jodensavanne or Brownsberg.

### When is the best time to visit Paramaribo?

September and October, the heart of the long dry season, and February and March in the short one. May and June are the wettest months. December and July are busy with Owru Yari and Keti Koti.

### Do you need to speak Dutch in Paramaribo?

No. Dutch is on every sign and menu, but English is common in the capital and standard among guides and hotels. Sranan Tongo is the shared street language, and fa waka, how are you, goes a long way.

### How do you get from the airport to Paramaribo?

Johan Adolf Pengel airport is at Zanderij, 45 km south of the city, and the drive takes about an hour. There is no rail link, so arrange a taxi or hotel pickup in advance, especially for late arrivals.

### Is Paramaribo safe for visitors?

The centre is fine by day with ordinary care. Keep bags close around the market, avoid flashing valuables, and take a taxi rather than walking late at night. Read your own government's advice before you book.

## Nearby guides

- [Georgetown](https://wimup.com/city/georgetown-guyana.md): Guyana · 10 picks
- [Port of Spain](https://wimup.com/city/port-of-spain.md): Trinidad and Tobago · 10 picks
- [Bridgetown](https://wimup.com/city/bridgetown.md): Barbados · 10 picks
- [All of South America →](https://wimup.com/south-america): 25 cities

Part of the [Suriname guide](https://wimup.com/country/suriname.md) · [South America](https://wimup.com/south-america.md)

## Sources

- [Paramaribo tourism board](https://www.surinametourism.sr/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Walk the historic inner city: UNESCO](https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/940/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Fort Zeelandia and the Surinaams Museum (official site)](https://www.surinaamsmuseum.net/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Keizerstraat: synagogue and mosque (official site)](https://www.surinamejewishcommunity.com/synagogues?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Cycle the Commewijne plantations (official site)](https://www.frederiksdorp.com/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Dolphins at the river mouth at dusk (official site)](https://www.frederiksdorp.com/portfolio/dolphin-tour/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Jodensavanne: UNESCO](https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1680/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Numismatic Museum (official site)](https://www.cbvs.sr/over-cbvs/numismatisch-museum-cbvs?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Readytex Art Gallery (official site)](https://www.readytexartgallery.com/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Brownsberg Nature Park (official site)](http://www.stinasu.sr/diensten/brownsberg?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Johan Adolf Pengel International (official site)](https://www.japi-airport.com/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- Rankings are Wimup editorial picks. Prices, durations and budgets are editorial estimates, not live quotes; check the official site before you go.