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  • Salvador da Bahia-12.97038-38.51238
  • Pestana Convento do Carmo-12.97063-38.50802
  • Casa do Amarelindo-12.97266-38.50987
  • Pousada Villa Bahia-12.96858-38.50735

Salvador da Bahia

Brazil's capital of happiness

One of the world’s most enchanting cities, Salvador da Bahia, was the capital of Portugal’s western empire until the 18th century as well as the largest port in the Americas.

Its wealth was created by Bahia’s fertile land and the import of slaves from Africa. Today it is a dynamic metropolis, where African, Portuguese, French, Dutch and local native tribal traditions mix together to generate a way of life reminiscent of the Caribbean.

Built on a ripple of hills overlooking the magnificent beaches of Bahia de Todos os Santos (All Saints’ Bay), the city consists of two levels - Cidade Alta and Cidade Baixa, linked by the Lacerda Elevator. On the upper slopes stands Pelourinho, a UNESCO World Heritage site, where some 800 buildings from the 16th and 17th centuries, including fabulously lavish Baroque churches and the pastel-coloured mansions of the colonial sugar and cocoa barons, form a living museum. Lining the shore is Cidade Baixa and Bonfirm, the national hub of both traditional and contemporary Afro-Brazilian art and culture renowned for the exotic rituals and intoxicating rhythms of its spectacular religious and folk carnivals.




 

Places of interest

Pelourinho – the Old City, with its ornate churches, fascinating museums and numerous jewellery stores, art galleries, craft shops, bars and restaurants; Bonfirm – a centre for schools of Capoeira, today an art form that was originally an African fighting technique practised surreptitiously in slave days through dance and percussion instruments; African-Brazilian dance and culture; Mercado Modelo and Feira de São Joaquim markets.

Best buys

World-famous Brazilian gemstones, handicrafts and local art.

Out and about

The beaches of Praia do Forte; TAMAR Sea Turtle Reserve; humpback whale watching; islands of Morro de Sao Paulo, Boipeba and Itaparica.

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