Porto Seguro

The Portuguese fleet under Pedro Alvares Cabral reached this coast in April 1500 and the first mass was said nearby, which makes Porto Seguro the conventional starting point of Brazilian history and the reason the Cidade Historica exists. On the hill above the modern town stand the Nossa Senhora da Pena church of 1535, the ruins of Nossa Senhora da Ajuda, the Misericordia church and the marco - a stone pillar of Portuguese possession - along with an indigenous history museum that gives the Tupiniquim and Pataxo account of what arrival meant. Below, the modern town is a mass-tourism strip of hotels, beach clubs and a nightlife street called the Passarela do Alcool, which has nothing to do with the hill and dominates most visits.

What you actually see

• The 1535 Pena church - among the oldest surviving churches in Brazil.
• The stone marco - the pillar of Portuguese possession on the bluff.
• An indigenous history museum - the Pataxo and Tupiniquim account of 1500.
• A package-holiday strip below - beach clubs and the Passarela do Alcool.

When to go

September to March. Two days.

Honest expectations

The historic hill takes two hours; the rest of the town is high-volume resort tourism with aggressive selling. Beach clubs charge minimums and are loud. In peak season the place is very crowded. The better villages are south across the ferry.

Nearby

Arraial d'Ajuda is across the river; Trancoso and Caraiva are further south.