Things To Do in Salvador

1. Solar do Unhão

An old sugar mill, the Solar consists of a number of beautifully preserved heritage buildings centered around a lovely stone courtyard that dates...

2. Museu Afro-Brasileiro/Faculdade de Medicina

This fine old building (built in 1808) is now home to the Museu Afro-Brasileiro, which attempts to show the development of the Afro-Brazilian culture...

Type:
• Museums

3. Mercado Modelo

There's no sense pretending you're not a tourist in the Mercado Modelo. If you're here, you are. Still, it's a fun place to wander. This former...

Type:
• Landmarks

4. Catedral Basílica

Fresh from a thorough restoration in 1996, the 17th-century basilica that dominates Terreiro de Jesus square now looks as good as it did when it...

5. Forte São Marcelo

For years we have admired this perfectly round fort (Jorge Amado referred to it as "the belly button of Bahia") at the entrance of the lower city,...

Type:
• Landmarks

6. Igreja de São Francisco

At a time when Salvador was the biggest port in South America and Portugal still vied with Spain and Holland for the title of world's richest empire,...

7. Museu de Arte Sacra

This small but splendid museum displays one of Brazil's best collections of Catholic art. The artifacts are shown in the former Convent of Saint...

Type:
• Museums

8. Museu Nautico da Bahia/Farol da Barra/Forte de Santo Antonio

The lighthouse, fort, and museum are mostly worth a visit for the views over the Bay of All Saints. Erected in 1534, the Forte de Santo Antônio...

Type:
• Museums

9. Nosso Senhor do Bonfim

Salvador's most famous church has a reputation for granting miracles. Tourists and faithful alike thus flock to this relatively plain 18th-century...

10. Museu Tempostal

Did you know the postcard was invented by Emmanuel Hermann? The Austrian professor first put a paper backing on a photograph and tossed it in the...

Type:
• Museums