Salvador.

1. Pelourinho & The Upper City (Cidade Alta): History, Architecture & Sound

Perched high upon a 70-meter coastal escarpment, Pelourinho is Latin America's largest and most magnificent complex of 17th- and 18th-century Portuguese colonial architecture. Named grimly after the public whipping post (*pelourinho*) that once stood in the central square during the colonial slave trade era, the neighborhood underwent monumental restoration following its inscription as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985.

Walking its steep, polished cobblestone inclines feels like stepping into a living historical theater: pastel facades painted in ochre, turquoise, terracotta, and lime-green flank narrow alleys that open into grand public plazas like Terreiro de Jesus and Largo do Pelourinho. On Tuesday evenings, the square hosts the legendary Terça da Bênção ("Tuesday Blessing"), when the thunderous Afro-bloc percussionists of Olodum rehearse in the open air, their hypnotic samba-reggae rhythms reverberating off colonial stone walls. Explore the Fundação Casa de Jorge Amado, dedicated to Bahia's beloved novelist whose masterpieces (*Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands*, *Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon*) chronicled the sensual magic and religious syncretism of Salvador.

A short walk uphill leads to Santo Antônio Além do Carmo, Salvador’s most enchanting and peaceful bohemian residential quarter. Here, 18th-century homes have been transformed into artisanal design shops, contemporary art galleries, and candlelit botecos whose rear verandas look out across the azure expanse of All Saints Bay.

2. Candomblé, Syncretism & The Sacred Church of Bonfim

To comprehend Salvador, one must understand Candomblé, an animist Afro-descendant religion brought by enslaved Yoruba, Fon, and Bantu peoples. Forced by Portuguese inquisitors to convert to Catholicism, enslaved practitioners creatively masked their African spiritual deities (known as Orixás) behind Catholic saints: Ogum (the warrior deity of iron) was worshipped through Saint Anthony; Oxum (deity of fresh water and beauty) through Our Lady of the Conception; and Oxalá (the supreme creator) through the Lord of Good End (*Senhor do Bonfim*).

The spiritual beacon of Bahia is the Igreja de Nosso Senhor do Bonfim, standing atop the Sacred Hill (*Colina Sagrada*). Its wrought-iron gates are perpetually covered in hundreds of thousands of vibrant colored ribbons called fitinhas do Bonfim. Tradition dictates tying a ribbon around your wrist with three knots, making a silent wish at each knot; when the ribbon naturally wears through and falls off, your wishes are believed to be granted.

Every January, the city celebrates the Lavagem do Bonfim, when hundreds of thousands of residents, led by hundreds of Baianas in starched white dresses, walk 8 kilometers from the Lower City to wash the church steps with scented water and flowers in a transcendent demonstration of religious syncretism. Inside Pelourinho, visit the solemn Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Rosário dos Pretos (Church of Our Lady of the Rosary of the Black People), constructed by enslaved Afro-Brazilians in their scarce nighttime hours over a span of nearly a century. On Tuesday evenings, its Catholic Mass is celebrated with African drums, atabaques, and call-and-response chants.

3. Gilded Baroque: Church and Convent of São Francisco

While Pelourinho displays modest residential pastel facades, the interior of the Church and Convent of São Francisco (Igreja e Convento de São Francisco) on Largo do Cruzeiro is an overwhelming sensory explosion of gold. Considered one of the seven wonders of Portuguese origin in the world and the pinnacle of Brazilian baroque craftsmanship, virtually every square centimeter of its vaulted ceilings, pillars, altars, and cherubs is coated in over 100 kilograms of pure gold leaf.

The adjoining two-story cloister courtyard is lined with over 55,000 hand-painted blue-and-white Portuguese ceramic tiles (*azulejos*) imported from Lisbon between 1743 and 1746, illustrating moral emblems from the Roman poet Horace. The monastery’s wooden carvings of indigenous flora, tropical fruits, and cherubs showcase how enslaved indigenous and African artisans subtly infused their own cultural motifs into European Catholic commissions.

4. Capoeira & The Art of Liberation

Salvador is the global birthplace and guardian of Capoeira, the mesmerizing Afro-Brazilian martial art that disguises lethal acrobatic kicks, sweeps, and feints within fluid, dance-like rhythmic movements. Developed by enslaved Africans on colonial sugar estates as a concealed method of combat training and self-defense, Capoeira was banned by Brazilian authorities following the abolition of slavery until legendary Bahian masters—most notably Mestre Bimba (creator of Capoeira Regional) and Mestre Pastinha (guardian of traditional Capoeira Angola)—convinced President Getúlio Vargas to legalize it in the 1930s.

In Salvador, you can witness authentic rodas (circles of musicians and combatants) in community academies across Pelourinho and the artistic neighborhood of Santo Antônio Além do Carmo. A true roda is guided entirely by the hypnotic drone of the single-string berimbau, accompanied by the pandeiro, atabaque drum, and philosophical call-and-response singing that recounts historical struggles for freedom.

5. Elevador Lacerda & The Lower City (Cidade Baixa)

Salvador’s dramatic two-tiered topography is joined by the Elevador Lacerda, an iconic 72-meter Art Deco public elevator tower constructed in 1873 (and electrified in 1930). Connecting Praça Tomé de Sousa in the Upper City to Praça Cayru in the Lower City in just 30 seconds, it carries over 20,000 commuters daily and provides breathtaking vistas across All Saints Bay to the historic circular fortress of Forte de São Marcelo rising out of the water.

At the base of the elevator lies the Mercado Modelo, a historic customs house built in 1861 that now houses over 260 artisanal craft stalls selling Bahian lace, hand-carved berimbaus, candomblé sculptures, and colorful paintings. Head to the rear waterfront veranda for a refreshing fresh green coconut (*água de coco*) while watching wooden fishing boats and schooners dock at the harbor.

Further south along the coastal inlet lies Solar do Unhão, a 17th-century sugarcane estate, slave quarters, and manor house converted by architect Lina Bo Bardi into the MAM (Museu de Arte Moderna da Bahia). The museum is renowned for its sculptural wooden spiral staircase built without a single nail and its wildly popular Saturday sunset open-air jazz sessions (JAM no MAM).