Paramaribo

Paramaribo is the capital and largest city of Suriname, on the north-eastern Atlantic coast of South America. The historic inner city of Paramaribo is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Fort Zeelandia is a fortress built by British colonists in 1651 around a small trading post, created by the Dutch.

St Peter & Paul Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral in the centre of Paramaribo and the biggest wooden structure in the Western Hemisphere. It was consecrated in 1885, but the towers were not completed until 1901.

Jodensavanne (Jews' Savannah) was the only autonomous agrarian settlement of Sephardic Jews in the New World with its own Jewish institutions. The two monumental Jewish cemeteries in the Savanna Forest represent the oldest surviving Jewish burial grounds in the New World.

The Neveh Shalom Synagogue is the only synagogue of the Ashkenazi community in Suriname. The original building was completed in 1723 and replaced the first Surinamese synagogue in the Jodensavanne, originally built of wood between 1665-1671.

Johannes Nicolaas Helstone was a Surinamese composer, pianist and writer. On his 95th birthday in 1948 on the Church Square, a monument to him was unveiled.

Take a bike tour of Peperpot Nature Park, where you can experience nature, plenty of birdlife and maybe spot some monkeys.

Other attractions include the Royal Palm Gardens, Presidential Palace and Arya Dewaker Hindu Temple.

There are lots of Chinese jewellers in the Maagdenstraat, where it is fairly inexpensive to have your jewellery cleaned or repaired.

Souvenirs include hammocks, locally made crafts and carvings and paintings.

Surinamese cuisine is a combination of many international cuisines including Indian, Creole, Indonesian, Chinese, Dutch and Portuguese. Local dishes include 'nasi goreng' (fried rice), 'bakmi' (noodles), 'moksi-alesi' (boiled rice mixed with vegetables, salted meat, shrimp or fish) and Javanese fried rice and noodles.

The port is within walking distance to town.