Queen Emma Bridge

The Queen Emma Bridge is the moving heart of Willemstad, a pedestrian pontoon bridge that floats on a line of small boats across St Anna Bay. It connects the two historic halves of the capital, Punda on the east bank and Otrobanda on the west, and the whole structure swings aside on its own engine to let ships pass in and out of the harbour. Locals nickname it the Swinging Old Lady.

Crossing it is free and takes only a couple of minutes, but the views make it a destination in its own right. From the deck you look straight onto the candy-coloured Dutch-colonial gables of the Handelskade waterfront, the row of ochre, blue, and coral merchant houses that defines the picture-postcard image of Curaçao. The pontoon rises and falls gently with the water under your feet, which is part of the charm.

When the bridge swings open

Several times a day the bridge detaches from the Punda side and pivots out of the channel so that cargo ships, tankers, and cruise vessels can reach the inner harbour. When that happens, a free ferry shuttles foot passengers across instead, so you are never stranded. Watching the bridge open and swing is a small spectacle worth timing if you can.

• It is lit at night, when the colours shift across the pontoons and the waterfront glows behind it.
• The bridge is the natural start of a walk around UNESCO-listed Willemstad, steps from Fort Amsterdam and the Mikvé Israel-Emanuel Synagogue.

Cross early or late to avoid the cruise-day crush, wear flat shoes (the wooden deck can be slippery when wet), and come back after dark for the night-time light show over the bay.