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São Vicente is a seaside city on the coast of São Paulo state, famous as the first town of Brazil, founded in 1532 by Martim Afonso de Sousa, and as a beach resort on the island it shares with Santos, with sights such as the Biquinha de Anchieta, Ilha Porchat and the Ponte Pênsil.
The first colonial election in the Americas was held here in August 1532, which earned the town the title of cradle of American democracy. A giant wave damaged the village in 1541, and it was rebuilt further from the sea. Each year the founding of the town is re-enacted on the sand of the Praia do Gonzaguinha, a show listed by Guinness as the largest theatre performance staged on a beach.
Visitors stroll the promenades of Gonzaguinha and Itararé, ride the cable car up the Morro do Voturuá and climb to the Monumento Niemeyer on Ilha Porchat. The ruins of the Engenho dos Erasmos, just over the line in Santos, recall the first sugar mills of the colony, and the forests of the Xixová-Japuí park lie across the Ponte Pênsil.
Biquinha de Anchieta is a historic fountain beside the Praia do Gonzaguinha in São Vicente, built in 1553 and for centuries one of the main water sources of the town. Tradition holds that the Jesuit José de Anchieta drank and taught here, a scene shown on its tiled mural over three lion spouts.
Marco Padrão is a monument in São Vicente that marks the fourth centenary of the founding of the town in 1532. Its cylindrical column is crowned by a block carrying four shields, and it stands on the rocky islet of Pedras do Mato in the bay, facing the Biquinha de Anchieta and the beach.
Ponte Pênsil is the suspension bridge that links the island of São Vicente with the mainland at Japuí, opened in May 1914 as one of the first suspension bridges in Brazil. Its four towers hold a 180-metre span over the water, and it was restored in 2015, when its corroded cables were replaced.
Engenho dos Erasmos is the ruin of one of the first sugar mills in Portuguese America, probably built in 1534 on the island of São Vicente and now within the city of Santos. Protected at federal, state and city level, it is a rare monument to the sugar economy of early colonial Brazil.
Ilha Porchat is a rocky headland between the bays of São Vicente and Santos, joined to the city by a short road bridge and once cut off only at high tide. One of the main sights of São Vicente, it has restaurants, clubs and homes, and its summit looks out over the beaches and the sea.
Praia do Itararé is a broad beach in São Vicente that runs about 2.5 km along the Bay of Santos from Ilha Porchat to the border with Santos. At low tide its sand can stretch more than 150 metres to the water, and the cable car up the Morro do Voturuá starts from its beachfront promenade.
Praia do Gonzaguinha is a lively beach in São Vicente, an 800-metre stretch of calm water near the historic centre, between the Marco Padrão and Praia dos Milionários. Kiosks, bars and boat trips line its promenade, and each year the sand becomes the stage for the founding of the town.
Praia dos Milionários is a small beach on the Bay of São Vicente, at the foot of Ilha Porchat between the Praia do Gonzaguinha and the Praia do Itararé. Its short strips of white sand, divided by rocks, face calm water and are lined by tall apartment blocks, giving it a quiet family feel.
Monumento Niemeyer, also called the Memorial dos 500 Anos, is an arch-shaped monument on top of Ilha Porchat in São Vicente, inaugurated in 2002 and dedicated to 500 years since the Portuguese reached Brazil. Designed by Oscar Niemeyer, it frames views over the bays of Santos and São Vicente.
Teleférico de São Vicente is a cable car that climbs from Praia do Itararé to the top of Morro do Voturuá, about 700 metres long with 560 metres of the ride over Atlantic Forest. Opened in 2002, the trip takes around 11 minutes, and the hilltop is shared with hang gliders and paragliders.
Parque Estadual Xixová-Japuí is a state park created in 1993 between São Vicente and Praia Grande, protecting 901 hectares of land and sea around two forested hills. Reached across the Ponte Pênsil, it shelters Atlantic Forest, restinga, rocky shores and the beaches of Paranapuã and Itaquitanduva.
Morro do Voturuá, also called the Morro da Asa Delta, is a 180-metre hill in São Vicente with wide views over Santos, Guarujá, Praia Grande, Cubatão and São Vicente itself. It is a launch point for hang gliders and paragliders, and since 2002 a cable car has climbed to its top.
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Log in to add photosPhoto: Photograph by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net)., Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Photograph by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net)., Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Photograph by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net)., Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Photograph by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net)., Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
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Photo: Photograph by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net)., Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Photograph by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net)., Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Photograph by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net)., Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Photograph by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net)., Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Photograph by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net)., Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Photograph by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net)., Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Photograph by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net)., Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Photograph by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net)., Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Photograph by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net)., Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Photograph by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net)., Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Photograph by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net)., Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
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Photo: Photograph by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net)., Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Photograph by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net)., Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Photograph by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net)., Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
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