From 1558, Salvador held the first slave market in the New World, and the city's churches, festivals, food and music still carry that history. This guide is for you if you want to spend half a day on it. The most important decision is the day of the week, and this guide starts there.
Choose a Tuesday to Friday
The two museums on this tour keep different weeks. The Afro-Brazilian Museum is open Monday to Friday, from 9:00 to 17:00. The MUNCAB, the National Museum of Afro-Brazilian Culture, is open Tuesday to Sunday, from 10:00 to 17:00, with last entry at 16:30.
So only from Tuesday to Friday are both open. On a Monday you lose the MUNCAB, and at the weekend you lose the Afro-Brazilian Museum. We adjust the day if you can only come then, but if the museums are the reason you are going, book a weekday in the middle of the week. Hours can change, so check the official sites before you go.
Morning or afternoon
The tour leaves at 07:00 or 13:00, and the order of stops is set so the museums are open when you arrive. The morning start gives you more room inside them, because neither is near closing time.
The afternoon start has its own reason. On Tuesdays at 18:00, the Rosário dos Pretos church holds the Terça da Bênção, the Tuesday blessing: a mass dedicated to Santo Antônio de Categeró, with music, dancing and bread shared among the people there. Confirm the time locally before you plan around it. The tour can end anywhere in the old town you would like to stay, so you can be dropped close by and stay on.
What each stop shows
The Dique do Tororó
The orixás in the lake are the work of the Bahian sculptor Tatti Moreno, placed there in 1998. The Dique is not only a sculpture park. In the run-up to the festival of Iemanjá on 2 February, an offering to Oxum has set out from here at midnight.
The Rosário dos Pretos church
The brotherhood behind the blue church on the Largo do Pelourinho has existed since the seventeenth century. Its feast of Nossa Senhora do Rosário dos Pretos, with a sung mass and a procession through the historic centre, has been held since 1820. In October 2024 the state of Bahia declared it part of its intangible cultural heritage. The church is still in use, so keep your voice down inside and ask before taking photographs during a service.
The Afro-Brazilian Museum
The museum belongs to the Federal University of Bahia and stands on the Terreiro de Jesus, in the building of Brazil's first medical school. It was first organised by Pierre Verger. Its collection covers the history, art and ethnography of African societies and their place in Brazilian culture, as well as objects of Bahian Afro-Brazilian religion. The best-known pieces are Carybé's carved cedar panels of the orixás.
The MUNCAB
The MUNCAB opened in 2009 in the former State Treasury building, opened in 1923, five floors in the historic centre. It calls itself a museum in process. The exhibitions run from Africa as the origin of humankind, through the slave trade, quilombos and rebellions, to Black contributions to food, religion, festivals, sport and music. Allow the full hour.
Praça da Sé
The square ends the half day above the bay. The Cruz Caída, the fallen cross, is a 12-metre sculpture by Mário Cravo Júnior, unveiled in 1999. It marks the old Sé, Bahia's former cathedral, which was pulled down in 1933 to make way for the tram. The wide steps make a good place to sit and look down to the harbour.
Dates that change the day
- 20 November. The Day of Zumbi and Black Consciousness, marking the death of Zumbi, leader of the Quilombo dos Palmares, became a national holiday by a law of December 2023. Museum hours can differ on holidays; check before you book that date.
- Carnival. The Batatinha circuit runs through the Pelourinho. In the days before Lent, the old town is given over to it.
- The rainy months. In Salvador, April, May and June are the wettest. Much of this tour is spent in museums and a church, so it copes with a wet day better than a beach outing does.
What this tour does not do
Candomblé terreiros are places of worship, not sights, and this tour does not visit them. The sculptures, the panels and the museum collections show the orixás; the houses where they are worshipped are not part of a sightseeing day.
Your driver knows the route and the places. If you would like a specialist historian as well, tell us when you book and we will price one. If you hope to see capoeira or hear music, ask your driver on the day; what is on depends on the week.
What to bring
- Flat shoes. The Pelourinho is cobbled and steep in places.
- Local cash for the church and museum entrances, which are not included.
- Water and a hat for the walks between stops.
Questions people ask
Is it suitable for children?
Older children who like museums will get most from it. Younger ones may prefer the Dique, and the open square at the end.
Can we combine it with the Pelourinho half day?
They share the old town but not the stops. If you want both, take them on different days, or see the Pelourinho and Bonfim tour for the churches and the lower city.
Can we cancel?
Yes. Cancel up to 24 hours before pick-up and you get a full refund. See our cancellation page.
Booking the half day
Book a Tuesday to Friday, take the morning for the museums or the afternoon for the Tuesday blessing, and check the museum sites before you go. The price depends on the size of your group; see it on the Afro-Brazilian heritage tour page. For the other ways to spend a day here, read our guide to day trips from Salvador.
