Salvador Destination Guide

One of the better museums in Salvador, the Afro Brazilian Museum displays stunning artefacts portraying the history of Capoeira. Do not miss the section showcasing the orixa's or god's costumes. It has a small but extraordinary collection of traditional African pottery, woodwork, ceremonial Candomblé apparels and Bahian relics. The wood panels depicting Oxum, the goddess of beauty, carved by Carybé, an Argentinean artist who has been a long time resident of Salvador, are exquisite.

This is the lower portion of Salvador by the sea. One can expect beautiful sunsets and breathtaking views here but not too much in terms of souvenir shopping. Although there are stores selling knickknacks in Mercado Modelo, the area worth exploring is Cidade Baixa with its many restaurants, stalls and inexpensive snack bars.

The Carlos Costa Pinto Museum is different and interesting in its own way. The displays range from colonial furniture to antique jewellery and gold and silver amulets which were given to the slaves by the colonizers.

Located at the Terreiro de Jesus square, the basilica was built by the Jesuits in 1672. The interiors are ornate, constructed from cedar coated with a thin layer of gold. The high alter has 18 gold pillars and the image of Christ the Saviour is made of wood and is the largest in the whole of Brazil. Interestingly symbols such as fishtails, tributes to Yemanjá and images of sea goddesses from the Candomblé religion can be found in the woodwork, which points towards the fact that slaves were used by the missionaries to build the church. On Sundays at 11 in the morning one can go and listen to the Barroco na Bahia or baroque chamber music at the Basilica.

The Igreja de São Francisco is a baroque church with more than hundred kilograms of gold plastered on its interiors. Not the most beautiful and aesthetically pleasing, but the grandeur is worth witnessing. The sheen is so bright that when the doors are opened in the evenings a yellow glow is cast all the way upto Terreiro de Jesus. The Igreja de São Francisco was covered with gold by the nouveaux rich sugar barons of Salvador between 1708 and 1723 to prove their economic dominance over Spain and Holland. It was a way to show the world that Salvador had arrived. Try and make it on a Tuesday in the evenings by around 5pm and you will witness parishioners coming for blessings and rich matrons offering small loafs of bread to the poor of Salvador and seeking the favours of St Francis.

The Ordem Terceira de São Francisco church is right next to the Igreja de São Francisco. The sandstone façade is impressive and the interiors are decorated with blue tiles. The Church is open on weekdays from 8 in the morning till noon and 1 in the afternoon till 5 in the evening. An outing to both these churches would take you around an hour at the most.

The São Joaquim Market is a lively little place in Mercado São Joaquim. Vendors mainly sell traditional pottery, art and souvenirs. To get to Mercado São Joaquim you will have to catch a bus heading north from the bus stop next to the elevator to Ribeira or Bonfim. Get off about 3 km north after the Pirelli Pneuss store, which you will see on your left. This small city has a number of seaside barracas or huts - not very clean though - which are open Monday to Saturday selling sugarcane rum. The atmosphere is often charged with a lot of impromptu dancing and singing.

If you have an hour or two to spend then go to the Solar, which is an old sugar mill which has been converted into a heritage site and museum. This eighteenth century structure is built around a cental stone courtyard. Apart from just wandering around and investigating the various buildings, you can visit the modern art gallery in the main building showcasing works by Portinari and Di Cavalcanti. To the right, a path will take you to a garden where sculptures by Caribé and Mario Cravo are on display. A small building beside the gardens houses the rest of the collection. Although the collection is small, expect some breathtaking views of the ocean.

The first thing to catch your attention in the historic centre of Salvador will be the brightly coloured stucco houses and Renaissance inspired buildings. Rua Alfredo de Brito is a narrow street that takes you to the historic Pelourinho district. The word Pelourinho actually refers to a ‘whipping post', where slaves were tormented and sold. Whipping was legal in Brazil till 1835. Between 1549 and 1763, Salvador de Bahia was the capital of Brazil. The vast sugar plantations in this area needed labour and so the first slaves to the New World landed in Salvador sometime in 1558. The Native Americans, the Europeans and the Africans have all contributed to the present day appeal of Salvador.

The old site where slaves were traded by rich landlords has been converted into a museum - the Fundacão Casa de Jorge Amado or Jorge Amado Museum. The museum is open from Monday to Friday from 8 am to 6 pm, and on Saturdays from 10 am to 6 pm. It is said that the writer Jorge Amado lived in the Hotel Pelourinho when it was a student boarding house. Although the exhibits are poorly displayed one can see the popular films based on Jorge's books, including ‘Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands'.

Another museum which traces the African history of Salvador is the Museu da Cidade, which houses exhibits depicting the Candomblé religion. Other attractions include the personal belongings of the romantic poet Casto Alves and writer Navio Negreiro who was the first to publicly condemn slavery. Museu da Cidade is open 7 days a week through Monday to Friday between 10 am and 6 pm, and on weekends between 1 pm and 5 pm.

The Portuguese used slaves and mules to traverse the distance between Cidade Baixa on the seafront to Cidade Alta up on the hill. The Jesuits installed an elevator in 1610, which was constructed from ropes and pulleys. The elevator was mainly used to transport goods. In 1928 the elevator was rebuilt using modern technology. Electric elevators go up and down an 85 m long cement shaft transporting nearly 50,000 people daily.

The Palácio Rio Branco houses the office of Tomé de Souza, the first governor general of Brazil. This building is not yet recognized by the historical and architecture society of Brazil, SPHAN, but the plaza consists of a number of interesting sites.