Recife

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Bom Jesus street, Old Recife (foto3) Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil

Entrada do Castelo. (7469284914), Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil

As Alas do Castelo. (7558292962), Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil

As Alas do Castelo Ricardo Brennand em Recife Brasil (7558306028), Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil

About Recife

Rivers, bridges and a reef-sheltered coast earned Recife the nickname of the Brazilian Venice. The capital of Pernambuco spreads across islands and peninsulas where the Capibaribe and Beberibe meet the Atlantic, and its old port district of Recife Antigo is one of the most rewarding historic quarters in north-east Brazil.

Founded by the Portuguese, Recife was the capital of Dutch Brazil from 1630 to 1654, when Johan Maurits of Nassau brought scientists and painters and the first synagogue in the Americas opened on Rua do Bom Jesus. Sugar wealth later paid for gilded baroque churches, and today the city is a hub of music and art, from frevo and maracatu to the ceramics of Francisco Brennand.

Recife's carnival, led by the vast Galo da Madrugada parade, is one of Brazil's greatest street parties. Boa Viagem beach lines the southern districts, colonial Olinda is minutes to the north, and the natural pools of Porto de Galinhas are an easy day trip to the south.

Best seasonSeptember to March is drier and sunny; carnival in February or March is the high point of the year.

Ideal stayThree days for Recife Antigo, the Brennand sites and Boa Viagem, plus a day in Olinda.

ArrivingGuararapes International Airport lies a short ride from Boa Viagem and has flights across Brazil and to Europe.

Recife Has So Much to Discover: 12 Highlights

Landmarks 2

Marco Zero Recife

Praça Rio Branco on the tip of Recife Antigo marks the symbolic zero point of the city, with a giant compass rose designed by the...

Rua do Bom Jesus

Lined with pastel-painted townhouses, this cobbled street in Recife Antigo was once the Jewish street of Dutch Recife and is now o...

History 2

Kahal Zur Israel Synagogue

Founded in the 1630s under Dutch rule, Kahal Zur Israel was the first synagogue in the Americas, and some of its congregants later...

Forte das Cinco Pontas

Built by the Dutch in 1630 to guard the water supply and the southern approach to the town, this fort was later rebuilt by the Por...

Museums 3

Instituto Ricardo Brennand

Set in parkland in the Várzea district, this museum looks like a medieval castle and holds a celebrated collection of arms and arm...

Paço do Frevo

Frevo, the fast brass-band music and acrobatic umbrella dance of Pernambuco's carnival, was recognised by UNESCO as intangible cul...

Cais do Sertão

Housed in a converted warehouse on the Recife Antigo waterfront, this modern museum explores the life, music and landscapes of the...

Arts 2

Oficina Francisco Brennand

In a former tile and brick factory in Várzea, the artist Francisco Brennand spent decades creating a vast world of ceramic sculptu...

Parque das Esculturas Francisco Brennand

Opened in 2000, this open-air gallery stretches along the natural reef that shelters Recife's port, with dozens of ceramic works b...

Temples and Shrines 1

Capela Dourada

Part of the Franciscan convent of Santo Antônio in the Santo Antônio district, this chapel of the Third Order of Saint Francis is...

Shopping 1

Casa da Cultura de Pernambuco

Recife's 19th-century city jail, built in a cross shape with wings radiating from a central hall, was converted in the 1970s into...

Beaches 1

Boa Viagem Beach

Recife's main beach runs for several kilometres along the southern districts, backed by a busy promenade, kiosks selling coconut w...

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Photo: Luci Correia from Jaboatão dos Guararapes - PE, Brasil, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

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