Salvador

Where should I stay?

Where should I eat?

• Acarajé da Dinha · Rio Vermelho · Acarajé (Bahian street food): A long-running acarajé stand on Largo de Santana, serving the black-eyed-pea fritter fried in dendê oil that defines Salvador street food.
• Acarajé da Cira · Rio Vermelho · Acarajé (Bahian street food): Another classic acarajé stall near Largo da Mariquita, run by the same family for decades and popular in the evening.
• Casa de Tereza · Rio Vermelho · Bahian: Chef Tereza Paim's restaurant serves refined versions of moqueca, bobó and other Bahian dishes in a relaxed house.
• Paraíso Tropical · Cabula · Bahian: Chef Beto Pimentel's garden restaurant is known for lighter moquecas made with fruit from its own orchard; worth the taxi ride.
• Yemanjá · Armação · Bahian seafood: A decades-old seafront restaurant serving big, bubbling clay pots of moqueca meant for sharing.
• Amado · Comércio · Contemporary seafood: An upscale restaurant on a deck over the Baía de Todos os Santos, good for a special dinner at sunset.
• Sorveteria da Ribeira · Ribeira · Ice cream: An ice cream shop open since 1931, known for tropical flavors like tapioca, umbu and cajá; pairs well with a visit to Bonfim.
• Feira de São Joaquim · Calçada · Food market: A sprawling, gritty working market with produce, dried shrimp, spices and Candomblé goods, plus simple stalls serving local lunches.

What should I do?

• Pelourinho · Centro Histórico: The UNESCO-listed colonial core of pastel houses, cobbled slopes and baroque churches, liveliest on Tuesday nights and weekends.
• Igreja e Convento de São Francisco · Centro Histórico: An 18th-century church whose interior is almost entirely covered in gilded carving, with a cloister lined in Portuguese azulejos.
• Elevador Lacerda · Centro Histórico / Comércio: The 1873 Art Deco-clad elevator links the upper and lower city for a tiny fare and gives broad views over the bay.
• Mercado Modelo · Comércio: A historic market building at the foot of the Elevador Lacerda, packed with Bahian crafts, with restaurants upstairs overlooking the bay.
• Igreja do Nosso Senhor do Bonfim · Bonfim: Salvador's most beloved church, where pilgrims tie colored fitas on the railings and leave ex-votos in the miracle room.
• Farol da Barra · Barra: A lighthouse inside the Forte de Santo Antônio, with a small nautical museum and the city's classic spot for watching sunset over the sea.
• Balé Folclórico da Bahia · Centro Histórico: A professional company performing Afro-Bahian dance, capoeira and samba de roda at the Teatro Miguel Santana in Pelourinho.
• Boat trip on the Baía de Todos os Santos · Baía de Todos os Santos: Day schooner trips leave from the city to the bay's islands, usually stopping at Ilha dos Frades and Itaparica for swimming and lunch.