The Beach

Barra is a busy beach just about every day of the year. It is situated in front of one of the most active areas on the coastline for hotels, bars, and restaurants. During the day, the Barra beach is a place to kick back and get some sun on the sand. You won’t be there but two minutes before you’ll be interrupted by someone selling something: roasted peanuts, sunglasses, sunscreen, and roasted cheese. The water in Barra and all of the beaches of Salvador is mercifully pollution free, due to a major clean-up program initiated by the mayor. The city installed sewage treatment facilities in every beach from Bonfim to Itapuan and you can swim anywhere on the Salvador coast, with the exception of Boca do Rio (the river does not get treated before it empties into the ocean). Of course, there are many beaches that you should not visit due to risk of assault, such as anything within 20 kilometers of Rio Vermelho Beach.

If you go into the water in Barra, just be sure that you have someone to watch your stuff. If you are alone on the beach (perhaps watching somebody’s stuff), be aware of people who may try to distract you from what you are watching over. Some of these misdirection schemes are performed in pairs, so if one person approaches you, open the eyes in back of your head. There is almost no risk of outright assault on the Barra beach during the day.

Sights

Barra is more about beaches and less about sites than Pelourinho. You may also find yourself in Barra because of the abundance of hotel options there. Still, there are a couple of sites worth checking out. First and foremost is the Santo Antônio da Barra Forte, also known as the Farol da Barra (or Barra Lighthouse). It is perhaps the most important fort in Brazil’s history. It was here that the Dutch first invaded Brazil (unsuccessfully) in 1624 and then again (successfully) in 1629. It has played an important role in the protection of the Bay of All Saints since its construction in the mid 1500s. Inside the fort is the Nautical Museum, which has a bunch of artifacts from a 16th century Portuguese ship that sunk offshore, as well as nautical maps and historical documents.

Most impressive is the view from the lighthouse platform, which lets you see both the bay side and ocean side of the coastline. There is a small coffee shop inside the fort. Open 9am–7pm in low season and 9am–9p.m. in the summer months. Closed Wednesday. The second most interesting fort in Salvador is also in the Barra region, called the San Diogo Forte. It overlooks the Barra Port at the end of Av. Princesa Isabel. Open 9:30am–noon and 1:30–5:30pm Next to this fort is the Instituto Mauá (see Shopping below). Finally, on the hill above Barra is the Igreja Abadia da Graça (Largo da Graça in the Graça neighborhood). This church was built in 1557, making it one of the city’s oldest original structures. It’s small and not as flashy as the churches in Pelourinho, but if you want to take a walk in the Barra neighborhood, you can check it out. Open 8–11:30am and 2–5pm

Shopping

There are shops all along Av. Sete de Setembro, the coast highway at Barra. If you want a more formal shopping experience, then Shopping Barra is within walking distance. It’s one of the best shopping malls in Salvador and has a tourist information booth inside, as well as movie theaters and Internet cafés. There are also some excellent lunch buffet restaurants in the food court and a bank of relatively quiet public phones. The best way to enter is from Rua Miguel Bournier. You’ll enter at the arts and crafts fair, which is in the east wing. This fair has some of the same items that you’ll find in the Mercado Modelo and probably at about the same prices. Another arts and crafts fair is at the Instituto Mauá (Praça Azevedo Fernandes 2, across from the gas station). Again, the merchandise here is similar to that of the Mercado Modelo at about the same prices, but it’s worth a look.

As you walk into the main praça of Pelourinho, called the Terreiro de Jesus, the Catedral Basilica will be on your left. You can’t miss it; it’s the largest and most impressive church in the praça, built in the early 1600s, not long after the founding of Salvador. Much of the original construction was lost to fire in the early 1900s, but the church was rebuilt and stands as an example of baroque architecture and sacred art in South America. The church was originally built as a Jesuit school (until the Jesuits were ousted in the mid 1600s) and above the entrance doors are carvings of three Jesuit saints. Inside, you can look down to see the marble floors, or up to see the beautifully painted and carved ceiling. Side altars are loaded with gold-covered wooden sculpture and hand-painted ornamentation, and represent a mixture of styles, from Baroque to Neo-Classic.

The highlight is the front altar with a hand-carved arch and many wood carvings. In the back of the church is a collection of religious paintings and Portuguese tiles. With its two towers, marble floors, tropical wood, gold leafing and paintings, the Catedral Basilica is considered one of the country’s most beautiful churches. It is often used by Brazil’s rich and famous for wedding ceremonies. Cost of entry is R$1. Open 9–11am and 2–5pm daily. You can attend mass on Sundays at 10:30am with Baroque music presentations.

Igreja de São Pedro dos Clerigos

Not necessarily one of the most exciting churches in the Centro Histórico, São Pedro is worth peeking into as you walk across the praça Terreiro de Jesus. It’s one of the few churches in the Rococo style. Open 1–5pm Monday–Friday.

Igreja e Convento de São Francisco

Considered the richest church in Brazil, the Igreja São Francisco (also known as the Gold Church) is drenched in gold leaf, hundreds of kilos of it. The many wood sculptures on the altars representing cherubs, angels, saints, flora and fauna are all draped in gold and surrounded with detailed ornamentation in gold and white. The simple gold-and-white motif is offset by the dark Jacarandá wood used in the hand railings and altar pews and a few simple blue Portuguese tiles above the altars. The ceiling and entrance are covered in Baroque paintings. The church was finished in 1723 and has a rather humble outer façade, hiding the incredible riches within. The adjoining convent has an entrance hallway covered in blue Portuguese tiles from the 1500s, and the theme continues to the outer patio area. It’s open from 8:30am–5pm Monday–Saturday.

Igreja da Ordem Terceira de São Francisco

This church has the date 1703 carved into the façade, which is the only church in Pelourinho with hand carved stone in the front. The ceilings are beautifully painted with several interlocked panels and the altars are filled with typical Baroque carvings covered in gold. Upstairs is a museum with numerous paintings (check out the gold-leafed frames) and an enormous banquet table for thirty. Located at Rua Inacio Acccioli next to the São Francisco Convent. Entrance fee is R$3. Open 8am–5pm Monday–Friday and 7am–noon on Sunday.

Igreja Nossa Sra. do Rosário

At the bottom of the hill, on the far end of Pelourinho sits the Igreja do Rosário, built in the 1700s by free slaves. Like most churches of the brotherhood of Rosário (brotherhood of black slaves), this church is on the outskirts of town and uses a mixture of themes, both African and Catholic. The façade is a mixture of Baroque and Rococo architecture with Indian influences in the spires. It’s open from 7:30am–6pm Monday–Friday and 7:30am–noon on weekends. At the time of this writing, this church was closed for restorations, which have been known to take years to complete in Pelourinho.

Igreja Nossa Sra. da Misericordia (Santa Casa)

Flanking the Monument to the Fallen Cross on Rua Chile is the Santa Casa de Misericordia, a 17th century construction with 18th century reforms. The house contains a collection of sacred art, sculpture, colonial furniture and artifacts from the colonial period. Even if you’re not up for checking out more religious art and sculpture (you might want to save your stamina for the Sacred Art Museum and principal churches), it’s worth at least stepping into the entry hall to check out the interior of the building. Open 8am–5pm Monday–Friday.

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

Salvador

It’s difficult to think of a place in South America more rich in history, more steeped in art and culture, more tied to the conquest of liberation than Salvador da Bahia. Many consider Salvador to be the very pulse of Brazilian culture, the grand palace overlooking Brazil’s ethnic landscape. Salvador’s heart remains in Africa and the African influences here are strong and colorful, having been filtered through almost three centuries of slavery and hardship. Today Salvador celebrates its liberation with music, dance, art, festivals, and traditional religious ceremonies. The streets of Pelourinho, the Centro Histórico, vibrate with history, music, art and food—both during the day and at night. The night scene in Pelourinho is a non-stop festival of the senses. Besides the historical buildings throughout the Centro Histórico, there are numerous museums, architectural monuments, and Baroque churches to explore.Now let’s talk about the beaches: Salvador is guardian of the All Saints Bay, which is home to several tropical islands. On some islands, you can sit on a sandy beach and look across the bay at the Salvador skyline. Others offer more secluded experiences. Up the northern coast of Salvador are the famous beaches of Itapuan and Flamengo, both with excellent beach bars for relaxing in the shade. There are also restaurants and a variety of hotels.

Geographically, Salvador lies on the tip of land that separates the Atlantic Ocean from the Bay of All Saints. The most interesting elements of the city are concentrated on the coastline and the city can be divided into three parts: The coastline along the ocean (Flamengo Beach, Itapuan Beach, and the Blue Coast areas); the coastline along the bay (Pelourinho, Cidade Baixa, Bonfim, and Campo Grande vicinity); and the point in-between (Barra). This chapter uses these three basic divisions.

The best time to visit Salvador is from October–December, part of the dry season. The months of December–March are also good in terms of weather, but things can get a bit crowded at this time, as these are holiday months for Brazilians (at least until Carnaval in February). During these months, prices go up in most hotels. The rainy season begins full-on in March and goes until June. Of course, you’ll get rainy periods during any of these times and some years have seen endless storms throughout October and November, but this is not the norm. Salvador is always warm and tropical with plenty of humidity.

PLANNING YOUR TIME

There is so much to do and see in Salvador that planning takes on a new dimension. Most visitors not only want to see Salvador, but also some of the islands in the bay (especially Morro de São Paulo) and some of the northern coastline (especially Praia do Forte). Here’s my advice for setting yourself up in Salvador: Get a decent hotel along the bay in the Campo Grande area (see listings below) and take taxis back and forth to Pelourinho and Bonfim to see the sights and nightlife. You can walk around these areas once you get there (Bonfim only during the day, please) and it’s easy to catch a taxi back from Pelourinho at any time of the day or night. You can walk to many of the sites in the Campo Grande area, since you’ll be staying right there. Hire a taxi to take you on a tour of the few distant sites between your hotel and Pelourinho—or to the sites in Barra.

Next, move your base to Itapuan for the next day or two. Besides enjoying the Itapuan and Flamengo areas, you can make day-trips to the north coast. This is a good time to rent a car, so you can come and go as you please. When you’re ready, catch a small plane from the airport (not far from Itapuan) to Morro de São Paulo for the final few days of your trip. I personally can’t imagine a better Brazilian vacation.

For a more economical version of this trip, just substitute a hotel in the Barra neighborhood and catch the frequent busses back and forth from Pelourinho and Bonfim. You can splurge for a taxi if you end up staying out too late. For the sites between Barra and Pelourinho, take a bus to the Carlos Costa Pinto Museum and walk from there up to the São Pedro Fort, passing various sites along the way. Take a taxi to the final few sites on the way to Pelourinho. You can take day-trips to Itapuan and the northern beaches and catch a boat across the bay to Morro de São Paulo. Voila! A perfect trip on a budget.

A couple more tips: Try to avoid the city beaches on weekends, unless you like rubbing elbows with the masses. This is especially true in the summer months. Weekdays in the summer are best for visiting the Salvador coast. On weekends, you can head up to the northern coast or to Morro de São Paulo or even take a trip to Itacaré to the south (these locations are covered in the following chapter, South of Salvador). Itapirica Island has wonderful beaches, but will also be very crowded on the weekend, although less so than the coast of Salvador. A weekend exploring Pelourinho and the museums in Campo Grande is a decent option. Many churches and museums are closed on Monday or Tuesday, so these are perfect days to hit the beaches. If it’s raining when you wake up, don’t despair. Most likely it will pass in a couple of hours, so keep you plans intact. Remember that any place you have to pay to get into will be safer than those you don’t. That means that it’s safer to sit in the actual area belonging to the beach bar, rather than on the sandy beach. The same is true for any sidewalk establishments in town.

HISTORY

One of the first cities to be developed in Brazil, Salvador’s official founding is 1549, when Captain Tomé de Souza came to govern the land given to him by King João III of Portugal. A dubious honor, but certainly better than suffering the inquisition back home. Others had failed at keeping the colony free of French pirates and other invaders—not to mention populating the territory and converting Indians. The first captain to be given the territory of Bahia, Francisco Pereira Coutinho, shipwrecked in the Bay of All Saints a year after he came to govern the territory. He was captured and later eaten by the Tupinambá Indians. They knew who he was. The good captain Tomé de Souza was now to be governor of the territory and Governor General of the entire Brazilian colony. He established Salvador as the capital city, made his home in the area that is now Pelourinho and built a palace for himself out of mud and sticks. That palace was eventually to become the Palácio Rio Branco on the edge of present-day Pelourinho.

Tomé de Souza arrived with his small fleet of ships carrying a troupe of workers (smiths, masons, etc.), numerous Jesuits for converting the native inhabitants, and a small flock of prostitutes. So it was that Salvador’s inception was marked by a mixture of Catholicism, enslavement (native people who did not convert), and bawdiness. When the slaves proved insufficient to work the new sugar mills, cocoa harvesting, and Pau Brasil cutting (a tree used for its hard wood and for the die made of its red bark and seeds), African slaves were imported to take over. Between 1600 and 1888 (when slavery was finally abolished in Brazil) almost 1.5 million African slaves were brought to Brazil.

Salvador was the nucleus of the colony and its sugar production and it was here that African slaves were most severely treated. A kind of resistance movement grew among the slaves that found its way into their religion (mixing African Candomblé with Catholicism), music, and dance (Capoeira evolving out of an African fighting technique and practiced through “dances” in the slave communities).

Salvador soon became the most important trading port between Brazil and Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries—until Rio de Janeiro usurped its position in the early 1700s as a result of the gold rush in Minas Gerais. But Salvador remains a kind of cultural capital of Brazil, with its mix of African, Portuguese, French and Dutch influences—mixed with the native tribal races already flourishing on the continent.