Salvador

Painted colonial buildings follow the sloping cobbles of the old quarter. On Tuesday evenings drumming fills a square and draws a crowd.

A lift of 72m connects the upper town to the port in thirty seconds. The fare is tiny and more than thirty thousand people ride it daily.

Tens of thousands of coloured ribbons are tied to the railings, three knots for three wishes. A side room hangs models of limbs left in hope of healing, right up to the ceiling.

The interior is covered in gilded carving said to have taken hundreds of kilograms of gold. Its cloister walls carry blue tiles shipped from Portugal.

Two people trade kicks inside a ring while instruments keep the rhythm. The account given is that enslaved people hid the fighting inside a dance to keep it alive.

A market building at the port whose basement is recorded as a holding space for enslaved people. The floors above sell crafts, and bargaining is normal.

A lighthouse stands inside the fort that guarded the bay mouth, and the fort works as a museum. Evening puts the sun into the sea beyond the rocks in front.

A beach away from the centre with palms and rock pools along it. The habit of washing in the freshwater lagoon nearby survives in song.

Three quarters of an hour by boat reaches an island of palm backed beaches and an old fort. Sailings are not frequent, and the hour of the last one is checked first.

In February stages built on lorries move through the streets with crowds walking behind. Rules differ block by block, and roped off sections are one of the arrangements.

A seaside district thick with bars and acaraje stalls, lively until late. Each year on 2 February the festival of the sea goddess Iemanja fills it with people in white sending flowers out on the waves. That day the waterfront is hard to get along even on foot.

A museum inside the old medical school on Terreiro de Jesus. Its treasures are 27 carved wooden panels of the orixa gods by the artist Carybe. Newcomers to Candomble can learn the deities' names here.

Solar do Unhao, a colonial manor and wharf right on the bay, now houses the museum. Its sculpture garden steps down to the shoreline rocks. Come evening, people fill it to watch the bay turn orange at sundown.

A hilltop fort beyond the northern tip of Pelourinho whose rooms are now shared by several capoeira schools. When evening classes run, you can watch through the windows. The square before its walls surveys the bay and the lower city.

The blue house crowning the Pelourinho square is the foundation honouring the novelist Jorge Amado. Every floor shows his covers, translations and photographs. The streets of his books lie just outside the window, so read one first.

A city lake where eight giant statues of Candomble orixas stand in the water. The shoreline path lets you see each god in its own pose. After dark floodlights throw their reflections across the lake.

A city beach tucked inside the bay with gentle water, held to be where the Portuguese first came ashore in the 1500s. A short strip of sand sits between two forts. Early morning, with locals out for a dip, is its quietest hour.

An island village roughly 2 hours by fast catamaran from Salvador, with no cars. The beaches go by numbers: first, second, third and so on. Rough seas toss the boat hard, so carry seasickness tablets.

A beach village about 80km north with a centre of the TAMAR sea turtle project. Tanks hold five species, and in nesting season you may see nests under guard. On the village edge stand ruins of a 16th-century Portuguese noble's manor.

The former Jesuit church on Terreiro de Jesus, raised in the 17th century. Portuguese tiles and paintings cover the sacristy walls and ceiling. Combine it with the Sao Francisco Church across the square.

A sprawling working market by the port in the lower city, piled with fruit, dried shrimp and palm oil. One alley sells herbs and bowls for Candomble rites. Unlike the tourist Mercado Modelo, locals shop here and the floors are wet, so wear trainers.

A carnival museum opened in Pelourinho in 2018, covering costumes, music and the story of the sound-truck stages. The roof terrace overlooks the bay. Miss February and you can still hear the carnival here.

A Reconcavo colonial town about 2 hours by car from Salvador, with old buildings lining both riverbanks. The Sisterhood of Boa Morte, founded by formerly enslaved women, holds its festival every August. Buses run too, but leave early for a day trip.