Salvador, Brazil

Salvador, Brazil
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Street_Scene_-_Salvador_-_Brazil_02.jpg
Author: Adam Jones


Salvador is the state capital of Bahia, in northeastern Brazil. Covering 706 sq km (272 sq mi), it has a population of 2.7 million people (2011 estimate) within a metropolitan area of 3.9 million.

Salvador is the oldest city in Brazil as well as in the New World. It was the first capital of Brazil, between 1549 and 1763. The Portugese arrived at Baía de Todos os Santos (All Saints Bay), in the Bahia coast, in 1500. This led to the founding of the settlement on 29 March, 1549. The city was originally called Salvador de Bahia, and for a while known simply as Bahia. It comprises the upper city, where the civic buildings and residential neighborhoods are located, and the lower city, which is the financial center.

Salvador is a place where the cultures of Europe, Africa and Native America come together. Salvador de Bahia holds the dubious honor of being the site when the first slave market in the New World was established in 1558, when African slaves were imported to work in the sugar plantations. Its old town, called the Historic Center of Salvador de Bahia, was inscribed as a World Heritage Site during the 9th session of the World Heritage Committee meeting at Headquarters in Paris, France, on 2-6 December, 1985.

Salvador The buildings of Salvador, as seen from the harbor
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Building_Facades_-_Harbor_at_Salvador_-_Brazil.jpg
Author: Adam Jones


Salvador served as the first capital of Brazil until 1763, when the capital was moved to Rio de Janeiro. It was the base of the Brazilian independence movement. Somehow bypassed by industrialization, the city went into gradual decline from the 19th century. By the mid 20th century, its fortune reversed, and it grew from being the fourth largest city in Brazil in 1948 to the third largest in 2008.

Salvador de Bahia World Heritage Site Inscription Details

Location: S 12 58 W 38 30
Inscription Year: 1985
Type of Site: Cultural
Inscription Criteria: IV, VI

Visiting Salvador

You can fly to Salvador, arriving at the Deputado Luis Eduardo Magalhães International Airport (SSA), which receives flights from all over Brazil, as well as from Buenos Aires, Frankfurt, Lisbon, Madrid, Miami, Milan, Natal, and Paris, among others. The airport is 28 km from downtown and 32 km from the beaches.

Pelourinho district, Salvador
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:View_over_the_Pelourinho_District_-_Salvador_-_Brazil_02.jpg
Author: Adam Jones


The most practical way to leave the airport is to take the prepaid executive taxi or the metered normal taxis. There are also minibuses to Praça da Sé, in downtown Salvador, and regular buses to different parts of the city.

Sights & Attractions in Salvador

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