Paramaribo, Suriname

 

The charming riverside city of Paramaribo may be the capital of the small South American country of Suriname, but it has the feel of a small town with friendly citizens, quaint restaurants and a cute harbour. Farms are a short drive from the city centre and you can be in the wild tropical jungles of the national parks on the outskirts within a couple of hours. Of the three Guianas, it's capital is probably the safest and most dynamic, with a bizarre European feel of Amsterdam meets the Amazon, and it is famed for the diversity of its inhabitants, including Creoles, Hindustanis, Maroons, Javanese, Indigenous, Chinese, Europeans, Lebanese Brazilians, Guyanese and Jews despite it's relatively small population of just under 250,000 inhabitants.

Known locally as 'Parbo', it is located approximately 15 kilometres inland from the Atlantic Ocean on the Suriname River, and it's riverside main street is still adorned with the historic old settlement homes, recognised by UNESCO for its connection to the Dutch colonial settlement from the 17th and 18th centuries and laid out in a grid pattern from 1683, although much was destroyed in a fire in 1821.