Give the first morning to the Pelourinho and the Terreiro de Jesus, including Carybé's orixá panels at the Museu Afro-Brasileiro. Ride the Elevador Lacerda down to Mercado Modelo, then spend late afternoon at Porto da Barra and the Farol da Barra for sunset. Eat acarajé in Rio Vermelho at night, and keep a morning for the ribbons of the Bonfim church.
Salvador is the capital of Bahia and was Brazil's first capital, built on a ridge above the Bay of All Saints. The old upper town and the port below are joined by a public lift, the Atlantic beaches start at Barra, and the city's African roots show in its food, music and faith.
The sloping square at the heart of the old upper town, lined with pastel colonial houses and part of a UNESCO-listed centre. Come before ten, when the light is soft and the streets are quiet, and keep valuables out of sight on the side lanes after dark.
The lift has joined the upper and lower towns since 1873, and the terrace at the top looks straight over the Bay of All Saints. At the bottom, Mercado Modelo sells lace, berimbaus and cachaça; compare a few stalls before you buy.
The university museum in Brazil's first medical school building holds Carybé's 27 carved cedar panels of the Candomblé orixás. Pair it with the cathedral across the square; together they explain the city better than any tour.
The 18th-century church on the Sacred Hill is Salvador's most loved, its railings knotted with coloured ribbons tied for three wishes. Step into the Sala dos Milagres on the right, hung with ex-votos and photographs left in thanks.
The lighthouse stands on the Forte de Santo Antônio da Barra, where the bay meets the open Atlantic, and the sun sets over the water. The fort holds the Museu Náutico da Bahia; arrive an hour early to see it before the crowd settles on the walls.
A short city beach inside the bay, so the water is usually calm enough to swim and the sun drops into the sea behind it. Rent a chair and umbrella from the beach stalls and keep only what you need on the sand.
Rio Vermelho is the bohemian seafront district, and its squares are where the city buys acarajé from the baianas' stalls each evening. Queue at the stall of the late Dinha on Largo de Santana or at Cira's on Largo da Mariquita, then stay for the bars.
The Bahia Museum of Modern Art fills a colonial sugar estate on the bay, restored by Lina Bo Bardi, whose wooden spiral stair is the building's real masterpiece. A sculpture park runs down to the water, and the terrace faces the sunset.
The quieter continuation of the old town, a ridge of small guesthouses, cafés and bay views north of the Pelourinho. Walk to the Forte de Santo Antônio at the end, home to the city's traditional capoeira schools, and ask what is on that night.
A music museum over four floors of the blue-tiled Casarão dos Azulejos Azuis, next to the foot of the Elevador Lacerda. It traces Bahian sound from samba de roda to axé, with listening booths and studios where you can try the rhythms.
Closed since part of its ceiling fell in 2025; reopening is planned for 2029.
Baianas wash the Bonfim church steps after a walk from Conceição da Praia.
Offerings to the sea goddess carried out by boat from Rio Vermelho.
Six days of trios elétricos on the Barra-Ondina and Campo Grande circuits.
Forró, bonfires and licor; many locals head to the Recôncavo towns.
A street parade marking Bahia's independence in 1823.
Black Consciousness Day, a national holiday, with events across the city.
A red-clad procession in the Pelourinho for the saint linked to Iansã.
The feast of the city's patron saint, in the lower town.
North-east of the centre. Metro Line 2 starts at the airport station, and ride-hailing to Barra takes about 40 minutes off-peak.
Two lines run north from Lapa and link the airport and bus station, but they skip the old town and the beaches of Barra and Rio Vermelho.
The public lift between Praça Tomé de Sousa and the Comércio, the quickest link between the upper and lower towns.
Black-eyed pea fritter fried in dendê, split and filled with vatapá.
The same pea batter, steamed in a banana leaf.
Fish or prawn stew with coconut milk and dendê oil.
A paste of bread, prawns, peanuts and coconut milk.
Okra stewed with dried prawns, cashews and dendê.
Prawns in a cassava and coconut purée.
Chicken with dried prawns, peanuts and cashews.
Coconut sweets sold by baianas, white or caramelised.
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