Salvador Pelourinho
★ 4.6🇧🇷 SalvadorSuggested visit 1 dayBest season Year-round; December to March for festivals
World HeritageHistoric siteMusic and culture
The colonial heart of Brazil's first capital, with colourful mansions, Baroque churches and Afro-Brazilian drumming.
Overview
Brazil's capital from 1549 to 1763, Salvador's Pelourinho district is its historic core and joined the World Heritage List in 1985. It preserves a dense stock of 17th to 19th-century colonial mansions and churches, the Church of São Francisco gilded inside. It is also the centre of Afro-Brazilian culture, with capoeira, drumming and African-influenced cooking everywhere.
History
Founded by the Portuguese as colonial capital in 1549, it declined when the gold boom shifted the capital to Rio in the mid-18th century and was extensively restored from the 1980s.
Highlights
- •The colourful Pelourinho streets
- •The gilded interior of São Francisco
- •Capoeira and drum performances
- •The elevator linking upper and lower city
Practical tips
- •Some parts of the old town are best avoided alone at night
- •Keep quiet inside the churches
Practical information
- Best time
- Year-round
- Tickets
- Churches about BRL 10
- Opening hours
- Old town open all day; churches roughly 9:00-17:00
- Local food
- Moqueca, acarajé, coconut water
- Getting around
- About two hours by air from Rio, 2.5 from São Paulo.
- Visa
- A visa is required; an e-visa is available with a valid US or Schengen visa.
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