Aruba’s second city was built around a refinery. When the work went, the shutters came down. Then the artists came, and the town painted itself back into the room. Here is how to spend a day in it, from the people who live here.
Most visitors drive past. The ones who stop find walls with names on them, a lagoon with no crowds and a bar that has been pouring since 1941.
More than 95 walls, painted since the first Aruba Art Fair in 2016. On your own you see paintings. With a guide who was there when the artists came, you hear a town talk about itself.
Guided walks from $30 →ArtisA Gallery on the main street shows Aruban artists, and every mural tour starts there. A few steps on, Space21 is home to more than 40 local makers. Open Monday to Saturday, 9 to 5.
Start at the gallery →Ten minutes from town: a shallow turquoise lagoon for families and snorkelling, with quieter Rodger’s Beach next door. Murals in the morning, the lagoon in the afternoon.
Morning Tour & Baby Beach · from $75 →The Museum of Industry, in the old water tower on Bernhardstraat, tells how aloe, gold and oil shaped Aruba. The Community Museum adds the families who came from all over the Caribbean to work here.
Ask your guide on the walk →Charlie’s Bar has stood on the main street since 1941, walls and ceiling covered in what visitors left behind. Kulture Cafe is the spot for coffee and a snack between walls.
End your walk here →Don’t just look. The Whole Story & Workshop walks the murals in the morning, then puts a brush in your hand with a local artist. You take your own work home.
The Whole Story & Workshop · from $100 →Every September the main street fills with the Mural Festival, live painting, the Aruba Art Fair and fashion nights, and new walls go up. In carnival season, San Nicolas throws its famous night parades.
Meet the murals →About 30 minutes from Oranjestad and 40 from the Palm Beach and Eagle Beach hotels. Parking in town is free.
Arubus lines L1, L2 and L3A run from the main station in Oranjestad to San Nicolas, a short walk from the gallery.
Our Morning and Afternoon Tour and a Ride collect you from your hotel or the cruise port. From $45.
Book direct: your money goes to the guides, the artists and the walls still to come.