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We offer holidays to the four corners of the globe. If you want specialist advise please phone our travel team and we will be happy to help.
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- Destinations
- Caribbean
- St Maarten and St Martin
- Philipsburg
- Dutch Forts
Dutch Forts
The town of Philipsburg boasts the remains of two historic forts
that bear witness to its strategic importance in days of old. Fort
Amsterdam, the first Dutch military establishment in the Caribbean,
was built in 1631 on a peninsula between Great Bay and Little Bay,
but it was captured almost immediately by the Spanish. The Spanish
later abandoned it, and the little fort returned to Dutch hands,
being kept in use right up to the 1950s as a signalling and
communications station. The other fortification, Fort Willem, lies
to the west of downtown Philipsburg, topped with a television
transmission tower. Both forts are worth the walk to visit,
particularly for the views afforded from their elevated
positions.
Information & Facts
Language
Dutch and French are the official languages, but English
is widely spoken. Locals commonly use a language known as
Papiamento, a mixture of Portuguese, African, Spanish, Dutch and
English.
Money
On the Dutch side the currency is the Netherlands Antilles
Guilder or Florin (ANG), where one guilder is divided into 100
cents, but US Dollars are also widely accepted and prices are
usually quoted in Dollars as well as Guilders. On the French side
of the island the Euro (EUR) is the local currency, although
establishments will also accept US Dollars. There are numerous
bureaux de change and banks throughout the island and ATMs in the
main towns in both national sectors; travellers cheques and major
credit cards are widely accepted.
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