Brazil's Northeast,
stop by stop.

Salvador's colonial heart lines up its pastel houses and Baroque churches on sloping cobbles, a few metres from the Bay of All Saints. The São Francisco church, whose nave is entirely covered in gilded wood, has been closed since part of its ceiling collapsed in February 2025, for a restoration announced to run until 2029. In the surrounding streets, drumming groups rehearse in the late afternoon, baianas fry acarajés on the corner of Praça da Sé and capoeira schools open their doors to the curious. The Museu Afro-Brasileiro, at the bottom of the square, provides the historical context often missing from whistle-stop tours.

Olinda unrolls its colourful houses over hills planted with mango trees, with 16th-century convents, artists' studios open to the street and viewpoints galore. At the top, the Alto da Sé gathers tapioca stalls and cocktail sellers facing the panorama of the towers of Recife, 8 km away. At the bottom of the coast, Recife Antigo plays on its restored warehouses, the Marco Zero and the cobbled Rua do Bom Jesus, once the street of the first synagogue in the Americas. The two cities make a pair that can be visited in two days, three if you add the Instituto Ricardo Brennand.