Salvador

Salvador's UNESCO-listed historic centre is a grid of 17th-century Portuguese baroque churches and brightly painted mansions perched on a bluff above the Bay of All Saints.

The interior of this 18th-century church is encrusted with roughly 800 kg of gold leaf over intricately carved jacaranda wood, making it one of the most ornate baroque spaces in the Americas.

This iconic 1873 public elevator connects the Cidade Alta to the Comércio waterfront in 30 seconds, offering a sweeping panorama of the Baía de Todos os Santos from its art deco cabin.

Housed in a former medical faculty, this essential museum documents the African diaspora's profound imprint on Bahian religion, art, and daily life through carved panels by artist Carybé.

Inside a 17th-century Portuguese fort at Santo Antônio Além do Carmo, this small but serious museum traces capoeira's origins from enslaved resistance to global martial art.

A working neighbourhood market in Brotas where locals buy fresh caju, umbú, and pitanga fruits alongside homemade acarajé seasoning and cheap plates of moqueca at communal tables.

A restored 17th-century sugar mill complex on the lower city waterfront that now houses the Museu de Arte Moderna da Bahia and offers arguably the best unobstructed view of the bay at sunset.

A shaded square in Rio Vermelho where retirees play dominoes beside a small daily fish market, and vendors sell oysters with lime straight from polystyrene boxes at weekend mornings.

Chef Edinho Engel's waterfront restaurant in the lower city serves refined Bahian seafood — think lobster with tucupi butter — with an open kitchen and panoramic views of the Baía de Todos os Santos.

A contemporary tasting-menu restaurant in Barra that reinterprets Candomblé ceremonial ingredients like obi and efó into inventive modern Brazilian courses.

Chef Felipe Schaedler's acclaimed restaurant in Rio Vermelho fuses Amazonian produce with Bahian technique, serving dishes such as pirarucu with pequi cream in a relaxed, plant-filled dining room.

A beloved institution in Pelourinho serving traditional Bahian recipes passed down over generations, with moqueca de peixe and caruru cooked in deep clay pots over wood flame.

A craft brewery and tap room in Barra with a rotating lineup of IPAs and Witbiers brewed on-site, best enjoyed on the open-air terrace a short walk from the lighthouse.

A hip, graffiti-covered bar in Santo Antônio Além do Carmo that pours natural wines and local craft beers to a crowd of artists and architecture students until the small hours.

The home venue of the legendary Olodum percussion group in Pelourinho, hosting live shows every Tuesday where the thundering 70-piece drum ensemble performs their politically charged afro-bloco sound.