Belem Old Town

Belem began in 1616 as a Portuguese fort at the mouth of the Amazon, built to keep the Dutch, English and French out of the river, and the Forte do Presepio still stands on the point with a museum inside it. Around it the Cidade Velha holds the colonial city: the Se cathedral, the Santo Alexandre church with its carved cedar interior, the Casa das Onze Janelas, and the Feliz Lusitania complex that ties them together. Much of the district is worn and lived-in rather than restored. Belem's other signature is above the streets - mango trees planted through the city in the nineteenth century now form a continuous canopy over many roads, giving it the name Cidade das Mangueiras, and dropping fruit heavy enough that people watch where they park.

What you actually see

• Forte do Presepio - the 1616 fort the city grew from, with its museum.
• Feliz Lusitania - the linked colonial buildings around the cathedral square.
• Mango canopy streets - nineteenth-century plantings shading the city.
• A working district - worn colonial fabric still lived in rather than restored.

When to go

June to November, the drier half. Half a day. Rain comes most afternoons regardless.

Honest expectations

Restoration is patchy and some blocks are run down. Care is needed after dark. Heat and humidity are heavy, and the near-daily afternoon downpour is worth planning around rather than resisting.

Nearby

Ver-o-Peso market is on the waterfront; the Basilica of Nazare is inland.