Travel Guide Recife

Recife, founded in the 17th century, is one of Brazil's oldest cities. Thanks to the boom in sugar cane, the town soon prospered, and it became necessary to expand the colony. Today, Recife appears as an urban maze in which nature is intimately entwined. The city center lies at the heart of a network of rivers that end their journey to the sea here, in a mangrove environment. Recife has thus earned the nickname of Brazilian Venice. This particular topography often makes it difficult to perceive and approach a city whose inhabitants are reserved before expressing their cordiality.Places of interest are scattered throughout the city, and in a single day you can go from the colonial vestiges of the old town to the beaches of residential Boa Viagem, via the bustling market district. The Bairro do Recife is an island in its own right, where many of the old buildings are concentrated (Golden Chapel, Igreja da Ordem Terceira de São Francisco, Forte das Cinco Pontas, Malakoff Tower, Bom Jesus Street...); other interesting sights await us as we cross the historic Mauricio de Nassau Bridge to arrive in Santo Antônio, with the Teatro Santa Isabel, the Palacio Campo das Princesas and the Praça da Republica. In front of the headquarters of South America's oldest daily newspaper, the Diário du Pernambuco, street vendors sell mangoes and papayas. There are also numerous museums to visit, including a curious detour to the Francisco Brennand Museum. Sociologist Gilberte Freyre was born and lived in Recife, where he wrote his seminal work "Maîtres et esclaves". In recent years, the city has also seen the emergence of Mango Beat, a fusion of Western musical trends and traditional rhythms. This is the land of Frevo, an acrobatic dance performed to fast-paced tunes played by a brass band. A few kilometers from Recife, Nazaré da Mata is the capital of Maracatu, a rite inspired by the African tradition of crowning black kings. Recife and Olinda are renowned for their carnivals, one of the most important in the country, alongside the two great classics of Rio and Salvador. The climax comes on the Saturday of Carnival. The Galo da Madrugada, the world's largest bloco, takes to the streets. A million and a half people pour into the city.