Sao Cristovao

Sao Cristovao was founded in 1590, which makes it the fourth-oldest town in Brazil, and it was the capital of Sergipe until 1855. What UNESCO listed in 2010 is the Sao Francisco Square: a wide open rectangle framed by the Sao Francisco church and convent, the Misericordia church and hospital, the provincial palace and townhouses, laid out during the period when Portugal and Spain were under the same crown and following Spanish colonial town-planning rules rather than Portuguese ones - which is why the space is a regular open square instead of the irregular Portuguese pattern. Two museums occupy buildings on it. The rest of the town is small, quiet and much less kept.

What you actually see

• A Spanish-rule square - a regular open rectangle, not the Portuguese pattern.
• The Sao Francisco convent - church and cloister on the north side.
• The old provincial palace - from the years when this was the capital.
• A 1590 foundation - the fourth-oldest town in the country.

When to go

All year. Half a day.

Honest expectations

The listed area is one square and takes under an hour; the rest of the town has little for a visitor. Museums keep short hours and close on Mondays. There is little shade and few places to eat. Most people come from Aracaju for a morning.

Nearby

Aracaju is east on the coast; Laranjeiras is north with its own colonial centre.