36 Hours in Salvador, Brazil
Lalo de Almeida for The New York Times
A youth drum corps rehearses in the Pelourinho district.
OUTSIDE of Carnaval week each February, when the emphasis is decidedly on the present, the coastal city of Salvador seems almost obsessed with its African past. Nowhere in Brazil is the deep influence of three and a half centuries of slavery so obvious, from the color of people’s skin to the color of the food (often orange, from the ubiquitous use of dendê, or red palm oil); from the deep influence of the African-derived religious traditions of candomblé to the musical beats of axé and samba. In the Rio Vermelho neighborhood, home to the hottest night life in this city on the Bay of All Saints, even the cool kids often shun the chicest bars and restaurants to hang out in the public plazas, drinking beer and eating the traditional, African-inspired black-eyed pea fritters called acarajé.
A Weekend in Salvador, Brazil
Map
Salvador, Brazil Friday
3 p.m.
1) NEW ART, COLONIAL SETTING
The state-run Modern Art Museum of Bahia, or MAM (Avenida Contorno; 55-71-3117-6141; www.mam.ba.gov.br), features contemporary artists, yet is inextricably tied to the Bahian past. MAM is set along the coast in the Solar do Unhão, a 17th-century colonial complex that now houses cultural institutions and events. The museum’s collection includes prominent 20th-century Brazilian artists like Tarsila do Amaral and Di Cavalcanti.
6 p.m.
2) BATTLE OF THE BAIANAS
Spend your first night in the Rio Vermelho neighborhood, where the action starts at happy hour. Choose a plaza and grab one of the tables tended by waiters from nearby bars. Then send a friend to wait in line at the stands where women in traditional Bahian dress make acarajé, frying balls of dough in dendê oil until crispy, splitting them in half and slathering them with sauces, shrimp and wicked malagueta peppers (4 reais, or $1.70 at 2.35 reais to the dollar). The stands are known by the names of their founders: the most pleasant stand is where the famous Dinha was maître d’acarajé until her death last year. Luckily, the stand bearing her name has lived on without her (Largo de Santana; 55-71-3334-4350).
8 p.m.
3) AFRICA VIA BRAZIL
Hidden off Cira’s plaza is the lovely Bahian restaurant Dona Mariquita (Rua do Meio, 178; 55-71-3334-6947; www.donamariquita.com.br). The interior is fashioned after a candomblé terrace (where religious ceremonies are performed), with a thatched roof, white-washed walls and splashes of color doled out sparingly. Leila Carreiro, the owner, has studded the menu with African-influenced traditional dishes that were fading into obscurity, like arroz-de-hauçá (36 reais), a mound of sweet coconut rice topped with a salty smoked shrimp sauce and surrounded by a moat of hearty shredded dried beef.
10 p.m.
4) FRANCE’S ALLEY
Unless it’s raining, you’d be silly to sit indoors at the Boteco do França (Rua Borges dos Reis, 24A; 55-71-3334-2734); instead, find an empty table in the narrow alleyway between the bar and the evangelical church next door, affectionately known as the Beco do França (literally France’s Alley, though França actually refers not to the country but to one of the owners). Passers-by dodge tables to use the alley as a shortcut between two main streets.
Midnight
5) TIRE ME OUT
There’s an old Bahian saying: “Show me a tire repair shop, and I’ll show you the coolest nightclub in town.” O.K., so it’s not really an old saying, but it could be. Borracharia (Rua Conselheiro Pedro Luís, 101-A; 55-71-9142-0456) means Tire Shop, and it literally is a tire repair shop by day with a shirtless, pot-bellied owner to prove it. At night, the tires are piled up, the bar opens, the D.J.’s arrive and sweaty bedlam ensues.
Saturday
11 a.m.
6) THE OLD TOWN
You can easily spend an entire afternoon in the cobbled, hilly streets of the Pelourinho district. It was revived from its decayed, crime-ridden, red-light reputation in the 1980s and turned into its current touristy but still irresistible self. Wander into the dazzling gold-plated Baroque interior of the São Francisco Church and Convent (Terreiro de Jesus; 55-71-3322-6430), buy a coconut treat from a street vendor or, if you are lucky, stumble into a deafening outdoor rehearsal of the youth drum corps at the Olodum music school.
4 p.m.
7) AFRO-BRAZILIAN PRINTS
There are plenty of design and crafts shops of varying quality in Pelourinho. One you can count on is Didara Design by Goya Lopes (Rua Gregório de Matos, 20; 55-71-3321-9428; www.didara.com.br) featuring Ms. Lopes’s famed African-themed prints — people, animals, abstract — on shirts, dresses, aprons, pillows and fabric bought by the meter. Upscale but not unaffordable (stylish tank tops for women start at 42 reais), her work is about as genuinely Salvador as acarajé, but much easier to wrap.
5 p.m.
8) CAFE WITH A VIEW
It’s easy to forget you’re in the Cidade Alta, the upper tier of the city, but you’ll quickly remember if you wander over to Cafelier (Rua do Carmo, 50; 55-71-3241-5095; www.cafelier.com.br) in the Santo Antônio neighborhood of the historic center. The cafe, which looks more like an antiques store than a coffee shop, has a stunning view of the bay. Take a picture; you can Photoshop out any gaudy cruise ships later.
7:30 p.m.
9) DEFENSIVE MANEUVERS
The white-washed Forte Santo Antônio Além do Carmo (end of Largo de Santo Antônio; 55-71-3117-1488), a former fort and prison, is now known as the Forte da Capoeira, a center for the martial arts and dance form that emerged from the traditions of African slaves. You can go during the week for a more complete visit (3 reais) but on Saturday evening at 7:30, head inside (free) and follow the rhythms to the classroom where the master and students practice.
9 p.m.
10) GARDEN DINING
The grungy chaos of Pelourinho disappears as you step into the garden of Maria Mata Mouro (Rua da Ordem Terceira, 8; 55-71-3321-3929; www.mariamatamouro.com.br) and sit down under the flowering frangipani tree (jasmin-manga in Portuguese). The menu is so international that you might be tempted to skip the fish moqueca, a traditional stew. But make sure at least one in your party tries it (the menu says it feeds two — at 76 reais — but you can order a half-portion); the restaurant’s take on the dish is lighter than many and executed to perfection.
10 p.m.
11) AN INFUSED NIGHTCAP
Pelourinho is no Rio Vermelho when it comes to night life, but you can stop for a beer and live music just about anywhere, or have a nightcap at O Cravinho (Terreiro de Jesus, 3; 55-71-3322-6759), a dark bar of heavy wooden tables that serves infused cachaça, the Brazilian sugar cane liquor. The namesake infusion is the one with cloves, but there’s something for everyone — orange peel or ginger for example. There are times to err on the side of caution in Pelourinho — it can be dangerous at night — but in the central square taxis are waiting to take you home.
Sunday
Noon
12) GET OUT OF TOWN
It’s worth the 20- or 30-minute cab ride to Boca de Galinha (Rua da Estação, 58; 55-71-3398-1232) to check out the recipe for success that the owner, Nilton Souza, has stumbled upon: Find a run-down neighborhood. Set up some tables on a balcony overlooking the bay. Write out the daily menu of moquecas and fried fish longhand in school notebooks. To avoid a wait, arrive by noon.
2 p.m.
13) DESSERT AND MIRACLES
No need to call a cab back to town. Ask for directions to the nearby ferry that will take you across the bay to the Ribeira neighborhood. Stop off at the Sorveteria da Ribeira (Largo da Ribeira, 87; 55-71-3316-5451) and take a stab at which exotic mystery fruit you think makes the best ice cream: Siriguela? Graviola? Umbu? Cupuaçu? Then hop a quick cab (or walk about a mile and a half) to Salvador’s most famous church, Nosso Senhor do Bonfim (Praça Senhor do Bonfim; 55-71-3316-2196), where models of body parts left as thanks are on display in the Room of Miracles.
THE BASICS
HOW TO GET THERE
United and TAM have some nonstop flights from Miami to Salvador, eliminating the need to fly over a thousand miles out of the way through São Paulo. American flies nonstop from Miami, and stops in Recife on the way back. A recent online search found flights running about $665 round trip. Other airlines connect through São Paulo. A cab ride to the city costs at least 60 reais, or $25.50 at 2.35 reais to the dollar, in the white cars marked “Taxi Comum.”
WHERE TO STAY
Those who want to dive into the Pelourinho district might try the Casa do Amarelindo (Rua das Portas do Carmo, 6; 55-71-3266-8550, casadoamarelindo.com.br), a small, cozy hotel. Rooms start at 259 reais a night (345 during high season).
Hotel offerings in Rio Vermelho range from the rooms with extraordinary views at the Pestana Bahia (Rua Fonte do Boi 216; 55-71-2103-8000, www.pestana.com), from 260 reais a night, to the rooms starting at 161 reais at the Hotel Catharina Paraguaçu (Rua João Gomes, 128; 55-71-3334-0089; www.hotelcatharinaparaguacu.com.br), an art-filled oasis in the midst of bustling Rio Vermelho night life.
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Lalo de Almeida for The New York Times
A youth drum corps rehearses in the Pelourinho district.
OUTSIDE of Carnaval week each February, when the emphasis is decidedly on the present, the coastal city of Salvador seems almost obsessed with its African past. Nowhere in Brazil is the deep influence of three and a half centuries of slavery so obvious, from the color of people’s skin to the color of the food (often orange, from the ubiquitous use of dendê, or red palm oil); from the deep influence of the African-derived religious traditions of candomblé to the musical beats of axé and samba. In the Rio Vermelho neighborhood, home to the hottest night life in this city on the Bay of All Saints, even the cool kids often shun the chicest bars and restaurants to hang out in the public plazas, drinking beer and eating the traditional, African-inspired black-eyed pea fritters called acarajé.
A Weekend in Salvador, Brazil
Map
Salvador, Brazil Friday
3 p.m.
1) NEW ART, COLONIAL SETTING
The state-run Modern Art Museum of Bahia, or MAM (Avenida Contorno; 55-71-3117-6141; www.mam.ba.gov.br), features contemporary artists, yet is inextricably tied to the Bahian past. MAM is set along the coast in the Solar do Unhão, a 17th-century colonial complex that now houses cultural institutions and events. The museum’s collection includes prominent 20th-century Brazilian artists like Tarsila do Amaral and Di Cavalcanti.
6 p.m.
2) BATTLE OF THE BAIANAS
Spend your first night in the Rio Vermelho neighborhood, where the action starts at happy hour. Choose a plaza and grab one of the tables tended by waiters from nearby bars. Then send a friend to wait in line at the stands where women in traditional Bahian dress make acarajé, frying balls of dough in dendê oil until crispy, splitting them in half and slathering them with sauces, shrimp and wicked malagueta peppers (4 reais, or $1.70 at 2.35 reais to the dollar). The stands are known by the names of their founders: the most pleasant stand is where the famous Dinha was maître d’acarajé until her death last year. Luckily, the stand bearing her name has lived on without her (Largo de Santana; 55-71-3334-4350).
8 p.m.
3) AFRICA VIA BRAZIL
Hidden off Cira’s plaza is the lovely Bahian restaurant Dona Mariquita (Rua do Meio, 178; 55-71-3334-6947; www.donamariquita.com.br). The interior is fashioned after a candomblé terrace (where religious ceremonies are performed), with a thatched roof, white-washed walls and splashes of color doled out sparingly. Leila Carreiro, the owner, has studded the menu with African-influenced traditional dishes that were fading into obscurity, like arroz-de-hauçá (36 reais), a mound of sweet coconut rice topped with a salty smoked shrimp sauce and surrounded by a moat of hearty shredded dried beef.
10 p.m.
4) FRANCE’S ALLEY
Unless it’s raining, you’d be silly to sit indoors at the Boteco do França (Rua Borges dos Reis, 24A; 55-71-3334-2734); instead, find an empty table in the narrow alleyway between the bar and the evangelical church next door, affectionately known as the Beco do França (literally France’s Alley, though França actually refers not to the country but to one of the owners). Passers-by dodge tables to use the alley as a shortcut between two main streets.
Midnight
5) TIRE ME OUT
There’s an old Bahian saying: “Show me a tire repair shop, and I’ll show you the coolest nightclub in town.” O.K., so it’s not really an old saying, but it could be. Borracharia (Rua Conselheiro Pedro Luís, 101-A; 55-71-9142-0456) means Tire Shop, and it literally is a tire repair shop by day with a shirtless, pot-bellied owner to prove it. At night, the tires are piled up, the bar opens, the D.J.’s arrive and sweaty bedlam ensues.
Saturday
11 a.m.
6) THE OLD TOWN
You can easily spend an entire afternoon in the cobbled, hilly streets of the Pelourinho district. It was revived from its decayed, crime-ridden, red-light reputation in the 1980s and turned into its current touristy but still irresistible self. Wander into the dazzling gold-plated Baroque interior of the São Francisco Church and Convent (Terreiro de Jesus; 55-71-3322-6430), buy a coconut treat from a street vendor or, if you are lucky, stumble into a deafening outdoor rehearsal of the youth drum corps at the Olodum music school.
4 p.m.
7) AFRO-BRAZILIAN PRINTS
There are plenty of design and crafts shops of varying quality in Pelourinho. One you can count on is Didara Design by Goya Lopes (Rua Gregório de Matos, 20; 55-71-3321-9428; www.didara.com.br) featuring Ms. Lopes’s famed African-themed prints — people, animals, abstract — on shirts, dresses, aprons, pillows and fabric bought by the meter. Upscale but not unaffordable (stylish tank tops for women start at 42 reais), her work is about as genuinely Salvador as acarajé, but much easier to wrap.
5 p.m.
8) CAFE WITH A VIEW
It’s easy to forget you’re in the Cidade Alta, the upper tier of the city, but you’ll quickly remember if you wander over to Cafelier (Rua do Carmo, 50; 55-71-3241-5095; www.cafelier.com.br) in the Santo Antônio neighborhood of the historic center. The cafe, which looks more like an antiques store than a coffee shop, has a stunning view of the bay. Take a picture; you can Photoshop out any gaudy cruise ships later.
7:30 p.m.
9) DEFENSIVE MANEUVERS
The white-washed Forte Santo Antônio Além do Carmo (end of Largo de Santo Antônio; 55-71-3117-1488), a former fort and prison, is now known as the Forte da Capoeira, a center for the martial arts and dance form that emerged from the traditions of African slaves. You can go during the week for a more complete visit (3 reais) but on Saturday evening at 7:30, head inside (free) and follow the rhythms to the classroom where the master and students practice.
9 p.m.
10) GARDEN DINING
The grungy chaos of Pelourinho disappears as you step into the garden of Maria Mata Mouro (Rua da Ordem Terceira, 8; 55-71-3321-3929; www.mariamatamouro.com.br) and sit down under the flowering frangipani tree (jasmin-manga in Portuguese). The menu is so international that you might be tempted to skip the fish moqueca, a traditional stew. But make sure at least one in your party tries it (the menu says it feeds two — at 76 reais — but you can order a half-portion); the restaurant’s take on the dish is lighter than many and executed to perfection.
10 p.m.
11) AN INFUSED NIGHTCAP
Pelourinho is no Rio Vermelho when it comes to night life, but you can stop for a beer and live music just about anywhere, or have a nightcap at O Cravinho (Terreiro de Jesus, 3; 55-71-3322-6759), a dark bar of heavy wooden tables that serves infused cachaça, the Brazilian sugar cane liquor. The namesake infusion is the one with cloves, but there’s something for everyone — orange peel or ginger for example. There are times to err on the side of caution in Pelourinho — it can be dangerous at night — but in the central square taxis are waiting to take you home.
Sunday
Noon
12) GET OUT OF TOWN
It’s worth the 20- or 30-minute cab ride to Boca de Galinha (Rua da Estação, 58; 55-71-3398-1232) to check out the recipe for success that the owner, Nilton Souza, has stumbled upon: Find a run-down neighborhood. Set up some tables on a balcony overlooking the bay. Write out the daily menu of moquecas and fried fish longhand in school notebooks. To avoid a wait, arrive by noon.
2 p.m.
13) DESSERT AND MIRACLES
No need to call a cab back to town. Ask for directions to the nearby ferry that will take you across the bay to the Ribeira neighborhood. Stop off at the Sorveteria da Ribeira (Largo da Ribeira, 87; 55-71-3316-5451) and take a stab at which exotic mystery fruit you think makes the best ice cream: Siriguela? Graviola? Umbu? Cupuaçu? Then hop a quick cab (or walk about a mile and a half) to Salvador’s most famous church, Nosso Senhor do Bonfim (Praça Senhor do Bonfim; 55-71-3316-2196), where models of body parts left as thanks are on display in the Room of Miracles.
THE BASICS
HOW TO GET THERE
United and TAM have some nonstop flights from Miami to Salvador, eliminating the need to fly over a thousand miles out of the way through São Paulo. American flies nonstop from Miami, and stops in Recife on the way back. A recent online search found flights running about $665 round trip. Other airlines connect through São Paulo. A cab ride to the city costs at least 60 reais, or $25.50 at 2.35 reais to the dollar, in the white cars marked “Taxi Comum.”
WHERE TO STAY
Those who want to dive into the Pelourinho district might try the Casa do Amarelindo (Rua das Portas do Carmo, 6; 55-71-3266-8550, casadoamarelindo.com.br), a small, cozy hotel. Rooms start at 259 reais a night (345 during high season).
Hotel offerings in Rio Vermelho range from the rooms with extraordinary views at the Pestana Bahia (Rua Fonte do Boi 216; 55-71-2103-8000, www.pestana.com), from 260 reais a night, to the rooms starting at 161 reais at the Hotel Catharina Paraguaçu (Rua João Gomes, 128; 55-71-3334-0089; www.hotelcatharinaparaguacu.com.br), an art-filled oasis in the midst of bustling Rio Vermelho night life.
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