The Brazil Travel Site

Pelourinho (Centro Histórico) and Bonfim

Over 800 colonial mansions and Baroque churches lean against the hillside of the old city center of Pelourinho. It was here at the Largo do Pelourinho where slaves and outlaws were publicly whipped (the word Pelourinho means whipping post). During its heyday, Pelourinho was the center of Salvador, the capital city of the colony and home to the richest sugar and cocoa barons of the time. It was also home to the country’s most active international port, located strategically inside the Bay of All Saints. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Pelourinho is a living museum, with numerous buildings from the 16th and 17th centuries fully restored to their original beauty and charm (there are always buildings undergoing restoration in Pelourinho, as the job is practically endless.) During the day, you can walk the streets, looking into the many clothing and art shops, restaurants, museums and churches. At night, Pelourinho offers up music and dance events in its many public squares, as well as a non-stop street scene that passes in front of the many sidewalk café/bars that decorate the streets. The Laranjeiras areas is loaded with charming restaurants that seat their guests outside on the sidewalk or inside their colonial manors. A number of programmed events take place during the week, like cultural performances at the SENAC theater or concerts by Olodúm and other groups. Just outside the Centro Histórico, you can watch a native Candomblé ritual.

Originally, this principal area of Salvador consisted of a high and low city, called Cidade Alta and Cidade Baixa. Today the famous Lacerda Elevator carries over 50,000 people every day between the two. At the bottom, where all of the shipping activity took place, are more churches, the Mercado Modelo for regional arts and crafts, and the Maritime Terminal, where you can catch a boat to one of the islands in the bay. The Cidade Baixa extends westward to the area known as Bonfim, a neighborhood famous for its Afro-Brazilian festivals and home to the famous Bonfim Church.

On the other side of Pelourinho (toward the ocean) the monuments, churches and museums continue all the way down the coast to the Campo Grande neighborhood (mainly along Av. Sete de Setembro). Some highlights here include the Museum of Modern Art and the nearby Solar do União performing arts center. Two of the city’s best museums are here (Carlos Costa Pinto and Bahian Art Museum) as well as the Praça Castro Alves and the modern Castro Alves Theater.

Sites

Churches in Pelourinho
Museums in Pelourinho
Architecture & Monuments in Pelourinho