Salvador Travel Guide

The Church and Convent of São Francisco in Salvador's historic Pelourinho quarter is among the most opulent Portuguese-Baroque buildings in the Americas, nicknamed the Golden Church. Franciscan friars reached Bahia in 1587, and their early church was destroyed in the 17th-century Dutch invasions; the present convent began in 1686 and the church rose between 1708 and 1723, its interior decoration only finished around 1755. Unusual among Franciscan churches of northeast Brazil, the nave has three aisles; the symmetric façade carries three portals and twin towers. Virtually every interior surface — walls, columns, vaults and ceilings — is sheathed in gilded cedar carving (talha dourada) with Solomonic columns, an estimated 800 kg of gold leaf in all. Around 55,000 Portuguese blue-and-white azulejos, the largest collection in any Latin American church, arrived in Bahia between 1743 and 1746 and were laid by 1748: scenes from the life of St Francis in the chancel and transept, and 37 panels of moral allegories after Horace and 17th-century Flemish engravings across the two-storey cloister. The illusionistic ceiling of the entrance hall was painted in 1774 by José Joaquim da Rocha, founder of the Bahian school. Much of the carving, gilding and tiling was done by enslaved and freed Afro-Brazilian artisans. The complex became IPHAN national heritage in 1938 and part of the UNESCO-listed Historic Centre of Salvador in 1985; a partial roof collapse in February 2025 killed one person and injured several, and parts of the church remain under repair.

The Museu de Arte Moderna da Bahia (MAM-BA) occupies the Solar do Unhão, a 17th-century colonial sugar estate and warehouse complex right on the Bay of All Saints — whitewashed buildings, a chapel and coastal gardings around the galleries, restored in the 1960s with interventions by architect Lina Bo Bardi, making it one of the best-set museums in Brazil. Founded by Lina Bo Bardi in 1960 in the foyer of the Castro Alves Theatre, it moved into Solar do Unhão in 1963; the 17th-19th-century sugar estate and warehouse complex had been national heritage since 1943, and a sculpture garden facing the Bay of All Saints plus the Rubem Valentim Pavilion were added in 1998. Founded in 1960, it focuses on Brazilian modern and contemporary art with a strong emphasis on Bahian artists, across painting, prints, sculpture and photography. The sculpture park faces the bay and is one of the city's finest sunset spots, while "Jam no MAM", a long-running Saturday-evening jazz session on the lawns, is a beloved Salvador tradition. From March to June 2026 the museum hosted "Uma história da arte brasileira", a 80-work panorama of a century of Brazilian art drawn from the Rio museum's collection. Admission is free; allow half a day.

Largo do Pelourinho sits in Salvador's historic centre, the heart of the UNESCO-listed Pelourinho district, ringed by colonial painted churches and three-storey old mansions. Named for the pillory once used to punish enslaved people, today it is a stage for Afro-Bahian culture: street drumming, capoeira and reggaeton fill the air, and Thursday night's bloco de percussion is legendary. Cobbled slopes link churches, craft shops and viewpoints — the best place to feel Salvador's soul.From the viewpoint the old town's red roofs spill down to the bay.

Salvador is built against hills facing the sea, divided into the high "Upper City" and the seafront "Lower City," with about 70 m of drop. The Lacerda Elevator, opened in 1873, is among the world's earliest urban public elevators. Between two Art Deco towers, four elevators run day and night between the two cities, carrying many citizens and tourists. From the Upper City platform you see the vast Bay of All Saints, the Lower City's Model Market and the port—a great overlook of Salvador's bay. Riding this century-old elevator connects the two cities—both convenient transport and a unique historic experience.

The Igreja de Nosso Senhor do Bonfim in Salvador's Lower City is among Bahia's most beloved churches, home to a patron saint cherished by sailors and faithful alike. Its fame rests less on architecture than on the coloured wish ribbons (fitas do Bonfim) tied at the gate — believers knot one while making a wish, and when it breaks naturally the wish is said to come true. Each January the Lavagem do Bonfim procession carries the image here in Salvador's liveliest religious festival. The white-and-blue façade is modest and calm, yet the square stays full of prayer and ribbon-sellers.The ribbons crowding the square make faith something you can almost touch.

Forte de Santo Antonio da Barra stands on the coast in Salvador's Barra district, a coastal defense built in the Portuguese colonial period and marked by its lighthouse. Guarding the entrance to the bay, it once protected the port; today it houses a nautical museum with collections related to navigation and the colonial era. Facing the sea with open views, the fort is a well-known spot for watching the sunset. The surrounding Barra seafront and beach are good for walking and views, and the old town is within reach.