If you want to visit the heart of Brazilian culture, the place where traditions feel alive in every color, sound, and smell, there’s no better spot than Salvador. This coastal city is often called the “Soul of Brazil,” and honestly, it lives up to the name. Salvador has African, Indigenous, and Portuguese influences, all woven into its music, food, religion, art, and people.
This is the kind of place where you don’t just sightsee. You feel. You interact. You dance. You taste. You learn. You meet locals who love sharing their stories. You join in traditions that have been alive for centuries. And you leave knowing you experienced something real and meaningful.
Let’s explore the best things you can do in Salvador to fully connect with its culture, meet the people who make the city special, and take part in traditions that make this place unforgettable.
1. Explore Pelourinho, the Historic Old Town
Pelourinho
Pelourinho is the historic heart of Salvador. Picture bright pastel buildings, tiled walls, lively plazas, music spilling out of every corner, and dancers practicing in open squares. It’s the kind of place that feels like it’s breathing culture.
What makes this area special
Pelourinho is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which means its history is protected and celebrated. It’s filled with Afro-Brazilian culture, old churches, museums, local shops, and street performers. Everywhere you walk feels full of life.
What you can do
• Visit local art galleries and meet the artists
• Watch Afro-Brazilian drummers practicing in the squares
• Stop for street snacks and talk with local vendors
• Visit the museums that explain the city’s past
• Support small businesses selling crafts, jewelry, and handmade art
Why this helps you learn the culture
Pelourinho is the center of Afro-Brazilian identity. By walking, talking, and connecting here, you learn how the city grew, what the people value, and how traditions are preserved today.
2. Learn Capoeira With Local Masters
capoeira circle with dancers in motion
Capoeira is one of the coolest cultural experiences you can have in Salvador. It’s a mix of dance, martial arts, music, acrobatics, and rhythm. It began with enslaved Africans who disguised fighting techniques as dance. Now it’s a symbol of resistance, freedom, and unity.
What you can do
• Take an intro Capoeira class
• Talk to the masters (mestres) about the history
• Watch local performances
• Join a roda (circle) and play the instruments
Why this experience matters
Capoeira isn’t just exercise. It’s a way to connect with local communities, hear stories of strength and survival, and feel the cultural heartbeat of the city.
3. Visit the Mercado Modelo to Support Local Artisans
Mercado Modelo
Mercado Modelo is Salvador’s main market, and it’s full of handmade crafts, art, jewelry, instruments, clothing, and food. It’s lively, warm, and full of people who love explaining what they make and why.
What you can do
• Shop for handmade African-inspired jewelry
• Talk with artisans about their work
• Taste traditional foods
• Watch craft demonstrations
• Buy instruments like berimbaus used in Capoeira
Why it’s meaningful
Shopping here supports families who rely on their art to survive. It’s one of the best places to interact with locals, hear their stories, and understand how traditional crafts are still part of life in Bahia.
4. Learn About Candomblé, an Afro-Brazilian Religion
traditional white Candomblé garments and ceremonial setting
Candomblé is one of Brazil’s most important spiritual traditions. It’s an Afro-Brazilian religion that blends African beliefs, storytelling, dance, drumming, and rituals.
What you can do
• Visit a Candomblé temple (terreiro)
• Attend a respectful ceremony
• Learn about orixás (deities)
• Talk with community members about their spiritual traditions
• Understand how African culture shaped Salvador
Why it’s important
This experience helps you understand the spiritual roots of Salvador’s culture. With permission and respect, visiting a Candomblé ceremony allows you to see how faith, community, music, and identity connect in powerful ways.
5. Experience Traditional Bahian Food With Locals
carajé
Bahian food is colorful, rich, and full of African influence. Trying it with locals is one of the best ways to connect with the culture.
Foods you should try
• Acarajé (crispy bean fritter stuffed with shrimp and spices)
• Moqueca baiana (seafood stew with coconut milk and dendê oil)
• Vatapá (creamy cashew and bread stew)
• Bobó de camarão (shrimp in a creamy cassava sauce)
How to make this cultural
• Eat at stands run by local women called baianas
• Take a cooking class inside someone’s home
• Talk about the history and African roots of the ingredients
Why this matters
Food isn’t just food here. It’s tradition, family, memory, and love all on one plate.
6. Take Part in an Afro-Brazilian Drumming Workshop
group drumming with traditional instruments
Salvador has a powerful music scene, especially when it comes to percussion. Afro-Brazilian rhythms shape everything from festivals to street parades.
What you can do
• Join a drumming workshop
• Learn rhythms used in Carnaval
• Play instruments like the atabaque and agogô
• Meet musicians who grew up performing in Pelourinho
Why this helps you connect
Music is a huge part of Salvador’s identity, and learning directly from local musicians helps you understand how rhythm and culture connect.
7. Explore the Beaches Where Locals Relax
Salvador beach
Salvador has some beautiful beaches, and visiting the ones locals love lets you see real community life. People gather here to eat, talk, swim, play soccer, and spend time with family.
Best local beaches
• Porto da Barra
• Farol da Barra
• Itapuã Beach
Ways to interact
• Play soccer or volleyball with locals
• Buy snacks from family vendors
• Join beach fitness groups
• Talk to fishermen about their routines
Why this is meaningful
Beaches in Salvador aren’t just scenery. They’re part of daily life. Spending time there helps you see the community’s rhythm and energy.
8. Do Community Service With Local Organizations
community volunteers planting trees or helping at a center
One of the most impactful things you can do is give back. Salvador has many community-led programs focused on education, youth, the environment, and culture.
Ways you can help
• Volunteer with children’s learning programs
• Support local arts programs
• Help paint community centers
• Join beach clean-ups
• Assist with music or dance classes for kids
Why it’s important
Giving back lets you connect deeply, build friendships, and support the people who make Salvador so special. Even one afternoon of service becomes a memory you never forget.
Why Salvador Is One of the Most Culturally Rich Places in the World
Salvador isn’t a place you just visit. It’s a place you feel. It’s alive in its music, its colors, its food, its spiritual traditions, and the way people treat you with warmth.
You can dance with locals in Pelourinho.
You can learn Capoeira from someone who’s been practicing it since childhood.
You can share home-cooked food with a Bahian auntie.
You can listen to drums echoing through the streets.
You can watch sunsets on beaches full of families and laughter.
You can volunteer and make a difference in the community.
Salvador is culture, history, joy, and community all wrapped into one experience. And when you visit respectfully and with an open heart, locals welcome you in like family.