Salvador Destination Guide

The best place to start exploring the charm and magic of Salvador is in the Pelourinho neighbourhood which still retains its seventeenth century charm, with 350 old houses from the seventeenth and eighteenth century. The district is full of art galleries, restaurants, bars and shops. On Tuesdays, the parties spread all over the "Pelô"- the name locals use for Pelouriniho. One of the attractions is the Olodum rehearsal, a local drum group. There are thirty-four colonial churches of various styles here, which include the Catedral Basilica and Igreja de São Francisco built in 1723.

The city centre of Pelourinho will welcome you with its immaculately maintained colonial architecture, cobble stoned streets and squares where traditional African percussion bands play and locals display a mixture of martial arts, dance and gymnastics called capeoira.

This Salvador destination guide introduces you to the numerous exciting things to see and do during your Salvador holiday. We also have a wide range of Salvador tours to help you see the highlights. More general information about what there is to do in the rest of Brazil can be found in our Brazil country guide.

Things to see & do in Salvador

The African influence in Bahia is depicted in the Museu Afro-Brasileir. The Art Deco styled elevator called Lacerda transports people from the administrative districts of Salvador to the port. Both these sites are worth a visit. The Model Market is a touristy shopper's paradise with roughly 300 stalls selling various types of art and craft.

Beautiful landscapes are also present in Salvador that has a ledge of about 50km. Sun and excitement are aplenty on Pituba Beach, Armação, Placaford e Itapuã, offering excellent restaurants and bars. The Praia da Barra is one of the most visited and it is well structered for the amusement of visitors, during day and night. At this beach are two postcard worthy vistas of Salvador: Cristo and Farol da Barra.

Move inland and the Chapada Diamantina National Park offers unlimited opportunity to explore the wild - go for nature hikes and ride horses. Waterfalls, rivers, stalagmite and stalactite caves and quaint villages dot this area and make it a must see. A good place to stay while exploring the inlands is the town of Lencois. You can also visit the paradisiacal neighbour islands and stay in a Morro de São Paulo hotel or Salvador pousada, another passport to enjoy the beauty of nature.

The two things that draws visitors' attention in the historical center of Salvador is the color of old houses and streets and that most streets are coved by paving stones. The centre is considered one of the most important sights of Salvador and a visit is essential to experience the culture and magic of the Bahia people.

The historic centre is often better known as Pelourinho, most accurately in the section comprising the Terreiro de Jesus to the Largo do Pelourinho. The name 'Pelourinho' is attributed to the instrument that was used to punish slaves. During the 1950s, the pelourinho became a home for the underprivileged class of the population. This Ffature gave the area a reputation as a bastion of black culture. In 1985 the centre was listed as a historic site by UNESCO.

Located on top of the hill and looking down on the Largo do Pelourinho is one of the most visited cultural centres, known as 'A Fundação Casa de Jorge Amado'. The site holds a huge literary collection, including one of the most important names in Brazilian literature, the writer Jorge Amado. Documents can be read on his life, as well as his books. The collection is open Monday to Friday, 9 am to 6 pm and on Saturdays from 10 am to 4 pm.

Another cultural centre located in Largo do Pelourinho is the Museu da Cidade, which protects the history of old Salvador with a collection of objects that belonged to residents such as the illustrious poet Casto Alves. The Museu da Cidade is open Monday through Friday, from mid-day to 6 pm, Saturdays from 1 pm to 5 pm and Sundays from 9 am to 1 pm.

It is the low area and coastal from Salvador and where you can get surprises. With about 20 districts, the region of Cidade Baixa has places like Boa Viagem, Bonfim and Ribeira and Mont Serrat. The curiosities of the region are present in every corner and at times like sunset seen from Boa Viagem Beach. The Cidade Baixa has some great tips on places that cannot be left behind, because there are many typical restaurants and where could prove tasty dishes. It is at this part of Salvador, which is the most famous ice cream in whole town, Ribeira’s Ice Cream.

It exposes and saves a collection with objects of art collected by Carlos Costa Pinto. There are 3175 copies divided into 12 collections. It usually hosts cultural events as well.

It is located in Pelourinho Terreiro de Jesus and was built by the Jesuits in 1672. It is considered the richest temple of Luso-Brazilian Baroque art and is coated internally and externally in lioz stone. Carvings from the roof of the main nave are dedicated to Santa Ursula and the front face, the niches over the church’s door contains images of three Jesuit saints: Santo Inácio de Loyola, São Francisco Xavier and São Francisco de Borja.

The Church of San Francisco is a baroque church, and one of the richest and biggest churches in Brazil, with the entire interior covered in gold. It was constructed in 1723 has Portuguese tile panels that tell the story of the birth of São Francisco and his detachment from material goods.

The Terceira Ordem de São Francisco is installed next to the temple. The front face is embossed and carved stonework. For many years the facade was covered with a layer of lime, its beauty staircase until it was discovered accidentally by an electrician who was doing work for reform.

The Feira de São Joaquim is a perfect place to have contact with the culture and customs of Bahia people. There is everything at the fair: crafts, spices, medicinal herbs, fruits, vegetables, meats, fish, voodoo stuffs and even live animals such as chickens. There are more than seven thousand merchants and works every day from 6am to 19pm and Sunday and holidays from 6am to 14h. The fair is located in an area of 34 thousand meters square between the Baia de Todos os Santos and Oscar Bridges Avenue, in the Comércio neighborhood.

The hayloft was built in the 17th century as a residence for Judge Pedro Unhão Castelo Branco. In 1962 was renovated and the garden began to host sculptures by artists such as Caribe and Mario Cravo. The hayloft on the shores of Baia de Todos os Santos and protects the Art Modern Museum of Bahia, with a collection of some two thousand works by Brazilian artists such as Portinari, Tarcila do Amaral and Di Cavalcanti. At this place, there is a restaurant next to the pier where folkloric presentations happen during the sunset in Salvador.

The Afro-Brazilian Museum portrays the influence and African culture. The collection includes, among others, a section that pays homage to the Orixás and where works can be seen as the wood paneling in reverence to Oxum, the goddess of beauty, carved by the Argentine artist Carybé. There is still a small collection of African pottery and other relics of Bahia.

One of the postcards of Salvador, the Elevador Lacerda connects the Cidade Baixa to Cidade Alta. Construction began in 1869, and it was inaugurated only in 1873 under the name of the Elevador do Parafuso; it was later named Augusto Frederico de Lacerda. Throughout its history, it has gone through various reforms and in 1930 took on the architectural style 'artdeco' with the extension of two unique sections.

The Memorial dos Governadores is located in the Palácio Rio Branco, at Praça Tomé de Souza. The building was built by the first governor-general of Brazil, Tomé de Sousa, in the 16th century, to host the center of the Portuguese administration. It houses a collection of various documents and objects of various rulers of Salvador.