Things to do in Salvador
Colonial gold, beach mornings, and cooking that tastes like nowhere else on earth.
This is Salvador for people who want to eat well, move slowly, and actually understand what they're looking at. The three days cover the gilded Baroque core, the best beach in the city, and the neighborhood where locals spend their weekends. One serious dinner per day, real Bahian food at every meal, and a cocktail bar that closes before midnight.
Day 1: Pelourinho: Gold, Tiles, and Dinner
Start with the most ornate church in Brazil, eat your way through a legendary Bahian buffet, and close the night at a proper local bar steps from the square.
- 9:30 AM
Pelourinho
Start the morning with a stroll through the UNESCO colonial heart, pastel mansions, Baroque facades, and Afro-Brazilian culture all in one cobblestone square.
Map - 10:30 AM
Igreja e Convento de São Francisco
Wall-to-wall gilded woodcarving and Portuguese azulejos from the early 1700s, one of Brazil's most breathtaking Baroque interiors.
Map - 12:30 PM
SENAC Restaurante Escola
Sprawling Bahian buffet by a cooking school, caruru, vatapá, moqueca, acarajé, all under one roof at great value.
Map - 2:30 PM
Mercado Modelo
The 19th-century customs house turned craft market; skip the trinkets and look for capoeira in the square outside.
Map - 7:30 PM
- 9:30 PM
Bar de Neuzão
Plain neighbourhood bar near Pelourinho; a cold beer at a plastic table and the street going by.
Map
Day 2: Barra: Fort, Beach, and French
A 17th-century lighthouse kicks off the morning before you settle into Salvador's calmest, clearest cove, then head uphill for a bay-view dinner that has been running since 1963.
- 9:30 AM
Farol da Barra
The 17th-century fort and lighthouse at the mouth of the bay; walk the ramparts, then the small nautical museum.
Map - 10:30 AM
Porto da Barra
Grab a coffee from a beach vendor and ease into the morning at this sheltered, locals-loved cove, calm, clear water right at your doorstep.
Map - 12:30 PM
Sorriso da Dadá
Chef Dadá, legend of Bahian home cooking, feijoada and home dishes in a cosy Pelourinho room.
Map - 7:30 PM
Chez Bernard
French cooking since 1963 on the Gamboa clifftop; book a window table for the lights over the bay.
Map
Day 3: Rio Vermelho: Heritage Food and a Slow Square
A quiet museum, lunch at one of the city's most serious heritage kitchens, and an afternoon under the trees at Largo de Santana before Chef Tereza Paim's celebrated Bahian table.
- 10:30 AM
A Casa do Rio Vermelho
Jorge Amado and Zélia Gattai's house, kept as they lived in it; go before the midday heat.
Map - 12:30 PM
Dona Mariquita, Cozinha Patrimonial
Lunch-only heritage kitchen serving pre-industrial Bahian recipes like efó and xinxim de galinha, don't miss it, it won't be open later.
Map - 2:30 PM
Largo de Santana
Largo de Santana is a breezy, leafy square perfect for a slow afternoon wander with locals.
Map - 7:30 PM
Restaurante Casa de Tereza
Chef Tereza Paim's celebrated Bahian table, casquinha de siri, bobó de camarão, moqueca in an art-filled space. The one memorable dinner of the trip.
Map
Where to stay
Casa do Amarelindo
A restored 18th-century house right in Pelourinho, at a mid-range price that suits the trip's whole ethos.
Mercure Salvador Rio Vermelho
Sits in Rio Vermelho, close to Day 3's best spots, and keeps the price honest for a three-night stay.
Make Salvador your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
Get Swearby on the App StoreBefore you go
Book ahead
- Pelourinho: a few days ahead
- Olodum: weeks ahead
- Balé Folclórico da Bahia: a few days ahead
- Arena Fonte Nova: a few days ahead
- Ilha dos Frades: a few days ahead
- Ilha de Itaparica: a few days ahead
Skip these
- Mercado Modelo as authentic craft: stock is mass produced with tourist starting prices. Buy real craft in Santo Antônio ateliers.
- Morro de São Paulo as a day trip: two to three hours each way on an often rough catamaran for a few hours ashore.
- Half price mega schooners mean crowding, loud sound systems and rushed swims. Choose mid price small group boats.
- Street guides in Pelourinho who attach themselves and bill at the end. Decline firmly at the first sentence.
The full Salvador travel guide: when to go, safety, getting around