De Waag

Suriname’s historic landmarks and cultural stops

Explore forts, plantation remains, a riverside landmark, a historic garden and a cedar-built cathedral.

Suriname’s history is visible in Paramaribo’s old town and along the rivers beyond it. These stops bring together forts, religious and civic landmarks, and a former plantation where walking and cycling paths pass estate ruins.

  1. De Waag

    Food & Drink, Paramaribo

    De Waag occupies an old brick weigh house on Paramaribo’s Waterkant. Goods arriving in the colony were once weighed and taxed here; today it serves meals and drinks beside the river.

  2. Fort Nieuw-Amsterdam Open-Air Museum

    Things to do, Commewijne

    This eighteenth-century fortress stands where the Commewijne and Suriname rivers meet. Its open-air museum grounds include cannons, historic buildings and a moored lightvessel.

  3. Fort Zeelandia

    Things to do, Paramaribo

    Fort Zeelandia’s brick bastions house the Surinaams Museum, with collections on the country’s colonial, cultural and archaeological history. The fortress sits in Paramaribo’s UNESCO-listed historic centre.

  4. Jodensavanne Archaeological Site

    Things to do, Para

    Walk among the brick synagogue foundations and cemeteries at this former Jewish agricultural settlement on the Suriname River. Headstones carry Hebrew and Portuguese inscriptions, and the site joined the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2023.

  5. Palmentuin

    Things to do, Paramaribo

    Opened to townspeople in 1685, this public garden sits behind the Presidential Palace. Its shaded lawns, statues and tall royal palms offer a pause among Paramaribo’s sights.

  6. Peperpot Nature Park

    Parks & Nature, Commewijne

    This former coffee and cocoa plantation is now a nature park, with flat paths following the old plantation grid past estate-building ruins. The paths are open to walkers and cyclists.

  7. Saint Peter and Paul Cathedral-Basilica

    Things to do, Paramaribo

    Built almost entirely of Surinamese cedar, this cathedral was completed in the 1880s. Inside, the warm timber interior and the tomb of missionary priest Petrus Donders are among its features.