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Social activities & attractions in Salvador

After classes are over for the day, our program allows you plenty of time to discover your new country, culture and everyday life.

Our langue courses are supplemented with a wide variety of fascinating opportunities to learn about Portuguese and local culture. Activities could include: workshops in local music, food, dance and Capoeira. Play soccer with the local or go see a professional game, even learn to surf or scuba dive!.

At the weekend many students can arrange to take optional excursions to local cities or local places of interest. Some of the most popular weekend trips include: the historical town of Cachoeira, Praia do Forte and it's beaches, local forts and islands or why not spend the afternoon on the beach people watching.

Salvador nightlife In the evening outdoor cafes & bars become alive especially in The Pelourinho area which offers a variety of night time activity, including local musicians, dancers, bands & folkloric shows. Bar hopping is popular and fun and a great way to take in all the groups and music (most are free). The night scene is laid-back and casual....so realx and enjoy it!

Tuesday is known in Pelourinho as Terça da Benção (Blessed Tuesday). THis day São Francisco de Assis Church gives out bread and donations to the poor and later a huge street party starts after mass. The square of Terreiro de Jesus is packed with tables, chairs, market stalls, barbecues and all along the streets you can listen to music.

Bahian cuisine is truly regional, with its own ingredients and flavors not seen elsewhere in Brazil. The coastal version of Bahian cooking is rich in seafood and the distinct African flavors of dendê oil, dried shrimp, and coconut milk. These ingredients are combined into fragrant stews loaded with prawns, oysters, crab, or fish and finished with a handful of fresh cilantro and tangy lime juice. You can't say you have been to Bahia without trying a moqueca de siri-mole (stew with soft-shell crab), a vatapá, the famous bobó de camarão, and the popular acarajé.

There is no better place to taste Bahian food than in Pelô, as the locals call Pelourinho. Located mostly in historic colonial houses, restaurants in Pelô provide the perfect backdrop for the exotic flavors of Salvador. Any night is a good night, though Tuesday and weekends are the most bustling. If you have your heart set on one of the most popular ones, such as Maria Mato Mouro or Sorriso da Dadá, make a reservation or head out early (around 8pm).

Comércio: located at the foot of a cliff directly below Pelourinho, the business and marina district of Comércio is fine for wandering in the daytime during office hours, but come evening the workers head home and the streets become quiet and empty. We recommend taking a taxi instead of walking.

Barra: This beach neighborhood is a popular dining destination for locals; with the many hotels concentrated in this area, it is always a lively spot in the evening. For the best views, you can't beat the patio of Barravento.

Shopping in Salvador the best buys include crafts made out of wood, ceramics, or leather; musical instruments; and CDs of axé music. Remember to always bargain. Salvador has a number of shopping malls outside of the downtown core. Shopping Barra, Av. Centenario 2992, Barra is just a few blocks from the Farol da Barra also next to the bus station, is one of the larger malls, Shopping Iguatemi, Av. Tancredo Neves 148, Pituba.

Here you'll find everything you need: clothing, souvenirs, books, and CDs, as well as movie theaters and an excellent food court. The largest and newest mall in Salvador is The Aeroclube Plaza Show, Av. Otavio Mangabeira 6000 on the outskirts of town, close to the airport. In addition to shopping, this open-air mall offers a large entertainment complex with minigolf, go-kart racing, bowling, a climbing wall, and play-land game center. In the evenings, the many bars, restaurants, and clubs attract people until the early hours. The shops are open on Sunday as well. Take either the Praia de Flamengo or Itapuã bus.

Attractions & places to visit in Salvador

Anybody visiting Salvador winds up spending at least some time in Pelourinho. Pelourinho is the Old City, the old heart of Salvador, with colonial-era buildings and winding cobblestone streets. Lots of good stuff -- music and capoeira -- is there. The place is full of bars and restaurants and small shops.

Comércio--The Cidade Baixa (lower city)is the commercial center of Salvador. In the 16th century people preferred to live in the cooler heights of Pelourinho and keep their offices and warehouses on the waterfront below. The Elevator Lacerda is the easiest way to access this area.

Vitória This quiet and green neighborhood lies immediately south of Pelourinho. It has a few hotels and some lesser city landmarks such as the Castro Alves Theatre and Campo Grande Square.

Barra a very popular beach neighborhood close to town, Barra is a neighborhood of restaurants and small shops located south of the city center just where the coastline makes a sharp turn to the east. Things to see include the Farol da Barra (Barra Lighthouse) and the smaller Forte Santa Maria. The prime attraction, however, is the sunset; small crowds gather to watch the show.

Bonfim / Monte Serrat located on a small peninsula, Bonfim is home to the Church of Nosso Senhor do Bonfim, one of the most important religious sites in the city. Beloved of both Catholics and Candomblé worshippers (who revere their equivalent deity of Oxalá), the hilltop church draws huge crowds who come to pray or ask for miracles. The Washing of the Steps, which takes place on the third Thursday in January, is one of the year's most colorful religious events.

the mercado modelo Located in the lower city across the street from the Elevador Lacerda, and is the old Customs House now transformed into a warehouse of handicrafts stalls. The rear part of the structure is given over to bars (very local) and restaurants (on the street level, and upstairs on a huge balcony). If you want to buy in the Mercado Modelo be prepared to haggle, and be prepared to shake off vendors insistent on selling something to you whether you want to buy or not.

a igreja de nossa senhora do rosário dos pretos (the church our lady of the rosary of the blacks) This is located in and dominates the Largo do Pelourinho. The church was built over a period of a hundred years or so beginning in 1704, by the enslaved members of O Irmandade de Nossa Senhora do Rosário dos Homens Pretos do Pelourinho (The Brotherhood of Our Lady of the Rosary of
the Black Men of Pelourinho).

a igreja de são francisco (the church of saint francis) Located up the cobbled streets and to the left at the far side of the Terreio de Jesus, standing at the end of an adjacent square (Praça Anchieta), beyond a large stone cross.

The place is awash in gold leaf, and it hosts a rococo gallery of saints and angels which, again, one would be hard-pressed to find in any other church -- pregnant cherubs and saints with protuberant manhoods -- all carved, of course, by slaves.

Forte de São Marcelo & other forts built in 1625 in the Bay of All Saints directly opposite the lower town. The current low thick walls were built in 1738. Jorge Amado called the fort "the belly button of Bahia." South of Pelourinho stand two forts fairly close to each other.

The Forte de São Diogo saw a great deal of action during the second Dutch invasion of 1638. Inside, there's a small model of the system of forts protecting the city. The Forte de Santa Maria is located on Avenida Sete de Setembro just a bit north of the Farol de Barra point. Its complement of large guns is still in position.

Beach scene in Salvador

After classes are over for the day, our program allows you plenty of time to discover your new country, culture and enjoy the beach scene of Salvador da Bahia, a great place to meet the locals and practise your Portuguese.

State of Bahia enjoys Brazil's longest coastline and includes some exceptional beach resorts.

Salvador’s shore is 20 kilometers long and has a sequence of beaches that is highly competited and goes from Praia do Porto to Praia do Flamengo. This interval’s excitement is intense day and night, with well-lit beaches with bars and restaurants that open into the night. Most beaches, has its barracas (baHAcas) where beer, drinks, etc can be bought.

Porto da Barra: bay with calm and crystal waters, offering the city's best bathing. It is also the place where Tomé de Souza, city founder, first arrived.

Porto da Barra: one of the most popular in Salvador is Porto da Barra. During the 1960's it was a hangout for Tropicalistas Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil, it continues to be a popular hangout today.

At the weekends, the beaches can get very crowded so be careful where you put your things, best to go with nothing or just the basics. The beach is set within the bay so it is pretty calm and good for swimming.

Other beach options:

Farol da Barra beach very tropical looking with small thatched huts with access to the lighthouse.

Itapoan beach a great beach to hear the local sounds of the area, the beach is protected by rocks and reefs, so the waters are good for swimming and generally calm. On the otherside of the beach close to the lighthouse are pretty strong, and great for surf, you will find many local
surfers here.

Piatã a lovely broad and long beach with hard-packed sand & coconut-palms. The waters are generally safe with a very gradually entry, a really nice place to spend the day!

Plakaford north of Piatã, a good family beach with safe waters protected by rocks and reefs. The beach lays between Piatã and Itapoan.

Stella Maris and Flamengo further north again, you will find these great beaches which are quite beautiful and palm-lined, with many barracas, so ideal to drink and eat with the locals!