33 Sights in Salvador, Brazil (with Map and Images)

Largo do Pelourinho, officially Praça José de Alencar, is a street located in the neighborhood of Pelourinho, in the heart of the oldest part of the city of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. Right at the foot of the old Portas do Carmo, near the Terreiro de Jesus and one of the most famous sets of baroque churches in the Americas, formed by the churches of the Third Order of St. Francis, all in gilded carving; of San Francisco; the Rosary of the Blacks; do Passo and the imposing Cathedral-basilica, formerly the Church of the College of the Fathers, where the poet Gregório de Matos studied and where Father Antônio Vieira preached.

Wikipedia: Largo do Pelourinho (PT)

The Church of Our Lady of Victory is a 16th-century Roman Catholic church in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. The church is dedicated to Our Lady of Victory and belongs to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of São Salvador da Bahia. The church was built in approximately 1561 by the Portuguese, and is the second-oldest church in Brazil. The church was listed as a historic structure by the National Historic and Artistic Heritage Institute in 2005. It has a large collection of 18th-century Baroque images on the high altar. The façade of the church faced west to the Bay of All Saints until 1808. The church building was reoriented east in 1808, possibly in conjunction with the visit of John VI of Portugal to Bahia. The façade of the church was again greatly modified in 1910 to the present Neoclassical design; it is white with a Roman triangular pediment and elaborate decoration. A large-scale renovation of the church was carried out between 2014 and 2015. The work included improvements to the frescoes, secular paintings, the painting of the nave ceiling, the font, various sacred art objects, the high altar, and tombstones.

Wikipedia: Church of Our Lady of Victory (EN)

The Church and Monastery of Our Lady of Monserrate is a 16th-century Roman Catholic church and monastery located in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. The church and monastery are dedicated to Our Lady of Monserrate and belongs to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of São Salvador da Bahia. It is located 200 metres (660 ft) from the Fort of Monserrate on a rock on the Itapagipe Peninsula. The date of construction of the structure is disputed; it dates to the 16th century, and has seen numerous alterations. The church was built either by the Spanish, or by the group that constructed the Garcia d'Ávila Tower House. Its design, along with that of numerous rural chapels of Bahia, is attributed to the Italian architect Baccio da Filicaia (1565-1628). The church interior was once lined entirely with 16th-century azulejos; now only a single strip of the tiles remain. The church was listed as a historic structure by the National Historic and Artistic Heritage Institute in 1958. It and the Chapel of Our Lady of the Ladder are the only remaining 16th-century chapels in Salvador.

Wikipedia: Church and Monastery of Our Lady of Monserrate (EN)

The Lacerda Elevator (Elevador Lacerda) is a public urban elevator located in Salvador, Brazil, connecting the lower city (Cidade Baixa) to the upper city (Cidade Alta). The 72 metres (236 ft) elevator was built between 1869 and 1873; it was named after Antônio de Lacerda, director of the Commercial Association of Bahia. It was a hydraulic elevator at first; later operating by electricity since 1906. The elevator towers were renovated in 1930, in an Art Deco styling. The Lacerda Elevator has two towers, one that pierces the stone slope of the Ladeira da Montanha, and other, more visible, that goes to the level of the Cidade Baixa. The elevator has four lifts, carrying 27 passengers each on a 30-second ride costing 0.15 reais. In 2019 it transported more than 33,000 passengers per day.

Wikipedia: Elevador Lacerda (EN)

The Church of the Third Order of Mount Carmel is an 18th-century Roman Catholic church in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. It is located adjacent to the Church and Convent of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Work on the church began in 1644. It was destroyed by fire in 1788 and subsequently rebuilt. The church is a large complex consisting of a nave, chancel, choir, corridors, tribunes, meeting rooms, and a sacristy. The interior was richly decorated in the 18th century; the painting of the ceiling of the nave is the first major work by José Teófilo de Jesus. The Church of the Third Order of Mount Carmel was listed as a historic structure by National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage (IPHAN) in 1938 and is part of the Historic Center of Salvador UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Wikipedia: Church of the Third Order of Mount Carmel (EN)

São Marcelo Fort, also known as Forte de Nossa Senhora do Pópulo e São Marcelo or Forte do Mar, is located in Salvador in Bahia, Brazil. It is located in small bit of land off the coast in the Baía de Todos os Santos. Standing on a small bank of reefs about 300 metres (980 ft) from the coast, it is one of two forts separated by water from land in Brazil, the other being the Fort Tamandaré da Laje Tamandaré in Rio de Janeiro. It is the only cylindrical fort in Brazil. Its design follows those of Castel Sant'Angelo in Italy and São Lourenço do Bugio Fort in Portugal. It is popularly known as the "Forte do Mar". It was built to protect the important port city Salvador from threats; the city had the largest number of forts during the colonial period of Brazil.

Wikipedia: São Marcelo Fort (EN)

The Parque Zoobotânico Getúlio Vargas, or Salvador Zoo, is a zoo located in Salvador, capital of the state of Bahia. Part of the total 700 thousand square meters of the land is occupied by 250 thousand square meters of vegetation, the Mata do Zoo. The park is located in the neighborhood of Ondina, more specifically, in Alto de Ondina, a hill that is also the address of the Palace of Ondina, official residence of the governors. It was created in 1958, according to state decree No. 17,481. There are 1500 extant animals belonging to 142 different species. The zoo is managed by the state government and is linked to the Secretariat of the Environment of the State of Bahia (SEMA), as well as the Pituaçu Metropolitan Park and the Abaeté Metropolitan Park.

Wikipedia: Parque Zoobotânico Getúlio Vargas (PT)

The Church of Our Lord of Bonfim is the most famous of the Catholic churches of Salvador, in the State of Bahia, Brazil. It was built in the 18th century on the only line of hills in the Itapagipe Peninsula, in the lower town of Salvador. The church is the subject of intense religious devotion by the people of Salvador and is the site of a famous celebration held every year in January, the Festa do Senhor do Bonfim. The church is the Cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bonfim. The church is noted for the Festa do Bonfim, held annually the second Thursday after Three Kings Day. The festival combines elements of both Catholicism and Candomblé. It was listed as a historic structure by the National Historic and Artistic Heritage Institute in 1938.

Wikipedia: Church of Nosso Senhor do Bonfim, Salvador (EN), Website

The Parque Jardim dos Namorados is one of the urban parks of the city of Salvador in Bahia, was created in the late 1960s. At the end of the 1990s, the park was reopened and the new project includes amphitheater, porticoes, murals and sculptures by Bahian artists, sports courts and fitness equipment. Located in the Pituba neighborhood, near the Costa Azul Park, it was implanted in front of Jardim dos Namorados Beach. The park has 110,000 square meters with space for cultural events, children's recreation, contemplation and others. It has a boardwalk, bike path, jogging tracks, skating and skateboarding, coconut sales kiosks, parking and Bike Salvador bike rental station. It usually has craft fairs on some weekends, especially in the summer.

Wikipedia: Parque Jardim dos Namorados (PT)

The Fort of Monserrate is a military fortification located in Salvador, Bahia in Brazil. It is also known as the Small Fort of Our Lady of Monserrate. It was known as the Forte de São Felipe from the time of its construction until the 19th century. The Fort of Monserrate was built between the end of the 16th century and early 17th century on the Itapagipe Peninsula. It is "one of the few Brazilian fortifications to retain its original appearance from the late 16th century." The fort is located above the Church and Monastery of Our Lady of Monserrate, one of the oldest church structures in Brazil. The fort was listed as a historic structure by the National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage (IPHAN) in 1938.

Wikipedia: Fort of Monserrate (EN)

The Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, or the Basilica of the Conception, is a church in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. It is affiliated with the Catholic Church and was built in 1623, making it one of the oldest parishes in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of São Salvador da Bahia. It was the first church built by the first governor-general of Brazil, Tomé de Sousa. The current structure was prefabricated in Portugal and assembled in Salvador; its construction began in 1739 and ended in the mid 19th century. The art historian Germain Bazin classifies the church as Portuguese in design, rather than part of the Bahian tradition of religious structures of the 17th and 18th century.

Wikipedia: Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, Salvador (EN)

The Chapel of Saint Lazarus is an 18th-century Roman Catholic church located in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. The chapel is dedicated to Saint Lazarus and Saint Roch. The chapel was established as a hermitage to treat people with leprosy; it was later used as a quarantine station for enslaved people arriving from Africa. Worship at the chapel is syncretic in character, with its two annual festivals combining Roman Catholic and Candomblé elements. The chapel is located on a hill high in the Federação neighborhood and consists of a single nave, altar, gallery, and sacristy. It is listed as a historic structure by the Instituto do Património Artístico e Cultural da Bahia.

Wikipedia: Chapel of Saint Lazarus (EN)

The Terreiro de Jesus is a plaza located in the Historic Center of Salvador de Bahia in Brazil. The square is located in the oldest part of the city and abuts the Praça da Sé. The Cathedral Basilica of Salvador, formerly the school and church of the Jesuits, is the most prominent structure in the Terreiro de Jesus, and occupies the west of the square. The plaza takes its names from the society. It was renovated in the mid-20th century by the landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx. It is officially know known as the Praça 15 de Novembro, and forms a central cultural and historical center of the city.

Wikipedia: Terreiro de Jesus (EN)

Forte de Santa Maria is a fort located in Salvador, Bahia in Brazil. It is also known as the Fortim de Santa Maria. It retains much of its original structure of the 17th century, including its broad, stone curtain walls. The fort is in the shape of a heptagon and is accessed via a narrow embankment. The fort was listed as a historic structure by the National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage (IPHAN) in 1938. It is closed to the public, is not maintained by federal or state institutions and is falling into a state of disrepair.

Wikipedia: Forte de Santa Maria (EN)

The Cathedral-Basilica Primatial of São Salvador is the mother church of all the churches in the ecclesiastical circumscription of São Salvador da Bahia, where the chair of the metropolitan archbishop and primate of Brazil is located. It is also home to the seat of the Parish of the Transfiguration of the Lord. This cathedral church is the former chapel of the Jesuit college, which in the year of the suppression of the order was handed over to the Archdiocese, and also because the old cathedral had been demolished.

Wikipedia: Catedral Basílica Primacial São Salvador (PT)

The Church of the Third Order of Our Lady of the Rosary of the Black People is an 18th-century Roman Catholic church in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. Construction of the church took almost 100 years. It is dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary and belongs to the Archdiocese of São Salvador da Bahia. The church was listed as a historic structure by National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage (IPHAN) in 1938 and is part of the Historic Center of Salvador UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Wikipedia: Church of Nossa Senhora do Rosário dos Pretos, Salvador (EN)

The Historic Center (US) or Centre of Salvador de Bahia in Brazil, also known as the Pelourinho or Pelo, is a historic neighborhood in western Salvador, Bahia. It was the city's center during the Portuguese colonial period and was named for the whipping post in its central plaza where enslaved people from Africa were publicly beaten as punishment for alleged infractions. The Historic Center is extremely rich in historical monuments dating from the 17th through the 19th centuries.

Wikipedia: Historic Center of Salvador (EN), Website

The Memorial Irmã Dulce (MID) is a permanent exhibition about the life and work of the Bahian nun Irmã Dulce, whose function is to guard and disseminate her legacy. It was inaugurated in Salvador in 1993, one year after his death, and receives about twenty thousand annual visits. The memorial is located in a building attached to the Convent of St. Anthony, in the headquarters of the Sister Dulce Social Works (OSID), in the Roma neighborhood.

Wikipedia: Memorial Irmã Dulce (PT), Website

The Costa Azul Park was built in 1995 in the neighborhood of the same name in the city of Salvador. Located along the waterfront, on the banks of the Camarajipe River, the area that gave rise to the park was occupied by the ruins of the Costa Azul Club and was the target during approximately two decades of demands from the population for the revitalization of the place. Currently the park is an area focused on sports, leisure and culture.

Wikipedia: Parque Costa Azul (PT)

The Farol da Barra, or Farol de Santo Antônio, is located at the old tip of Padrão, now Ponta de Santo Antônio, in Salvador, on the coast of the state of Bahia, Brazil. It was the first nautical signaling system to enter into operation in the Americas. It was installed in the year 1698, initially in a quadrangular format, with a glazed bronze lantern on top, fed by whale oil.

Wikipedia: Farol da Barra (Bahia) (PT)

The Praça Visconde de Cairu, or simply Praça Cairu, is a square located in Comércio, in the Lower City of Salvador, in the state of Bahia. In it is the Mercado Modelo, the Monument to the City of Salvador and the lower station of the Elevador Lacerda, as well as the Bahia Nautical Terminal, bordering the Bay of All Saints and the Fort of São Marcelo further back.

Wikipedia: Praça Visconde de Cairu (PT)

The Praça da Sé is a public place in the Historic Center of Salvador, capital of the Brazilian state of Bahia. It emerged in the 1930s due to the demolition of the old Cathedral of Bahia, which gave rise to the name of the square, and some other colonial buildings. In the 1950s, it functioned as a bus terminal until the Lapa Terminal was built.

Wikipedia: Praça da Sé (Salvador) (PT)

The Red River Market, also known as Ceasinha do Rio Vermelho or, simply, Ceasinha, is located in the city of Salvador, state of Bahia, Brazil. Located in the Rio Vermelho neighborhood, on the edge of Juracy Magalhães Avenue, it is a shopping center for produce products, fishmongers, butchers, flower shops, handicraft shops and food court.

Wikipedia: Mercado do Rio Vermelho (PT)

The Castro Alves Theater (TCA) is a Brazilian theater. It is the largest and most important artistic center of Salvador, capital of the state of Bahia, and is located in Largo do Campo Grande. In 2013, it was listed by the Institute of National Historical and Artistic Heritage (IPHAN).

Wikipedia: Teatro Castro Alves (PT)

The Abelardo Rodrigues Museum is a Brazilian museum that occupies the Solar Ferrão, in Pelourinho, Salvador. The organ is linked to the Institute of Artistic and Cultural Heritage of Bahia (IPAC) and its collection is focused on sacred art produced in Brazil.

Wikipedia: Museu Abelardo Rodrigues (PT)

Solar Ferrão is a building located in Pelourinho, Historic Center of Salvador, capital of the Brazilian state of Bahia, and which is part of the national heritage listed by IPHAN. In the building is installed the Abelardo Rodrigues Museum, of sacred art.

Wikipedia: Solar Ferrão (PT)

The Rio Branco Palace is a palace and former seat of government in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. It is one of the oldest palaces in Brazil and dates to 1549. It is located within the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Historic Center of Salvador.

Wikipedia: Rio Branco Palace (EN)

Forte de Santo Antônio Além do Carmo is a fort located in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. It is variously known as the Forte da Capoeira, State Prison. The fort defended the northern limit of Salvador at its time of construction 17th century.

Wikipedia: Forte de Santo Antônio Além do Carmo (EN)

The Itapuã Lighthouse or Ponta de Itapuã Lighthouse is a lighthouse in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. It is located on the beach of Itapuã, in the subdistrict of Itapuã, about 23 kilometres (14 mi) northeast of the Barra lighthouse.

Wikipedia: Farol de Itapuã (PT)

The Carlos Costa Pinto Museum is located on Avenida Sete de Setembro in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. It is a foundation, a private cultural institution maintained through an agreement with the Government of the State of Bahia.

Wikipedia: Museu Carlos Costa Pinto (PT), Website

The Palácio da Vitória is a building located on Avenida Sete de Setembro, in the neighborhood of Vitória, in Salvador, capital city of the Brazilian state of Bahia. It houses, since 1982, the Museum of Art of Bahia.

Wikipedia: Palácio da Vitória (PT)

Largo de Santana is a public place in the neighborhood of Rio Vermelho, located in the municipality of Salvador, capital of the state of Bahia. It is notorious for being one of the main bohemian regions of Salvador.

Wikipedia: Largo de Santana (PT)

Casa do Rio Vermelho or Casa de Jorge Amado is how the residence where the couple of Bahian writers Jorge Amado and Zélia Gattai lived, in the Rio Vermelho neighborhood, Rua Alagoinhas, in Salvador, Bahia.

Wikipedia: Casa do Rio Vermelho (PT), Website