Palm Beach for first-time visitors

Must-see attractions

Palm Beach, as TTDI files it here, is the Aruban stretch — the windward churches, the Oranjestad civic buildings, and the rough north coast where the trade winds do the talking. This list is not a beach-club crawl. It is twelve grounded, mapped places that explain how the island actually works: four Catholic and Protestant churches that anchor their parishes, one arts house in the capital, two water towers that became civic landmarks, a chapel on a hill, a wreck off the leeward reef, a sacred pool, and a settlement on the windward side that most rental cars never reach. Addresses are taken straight from public records; coordinates are checked against Wikidata. The list is built for the traveller who wants to see Aruba past the resort lobby — drive it in two days, stop where the doors are open, and let the wind on the windward coast tell you when to turn around. Bring water, a real map, and shoes you do not mind getting wet.