A Rococo gem, the stunning "Golden Chapel" (1697) evokes the golden age of the religious orders in Pernambuco. Inside, its decor reveals a breathtaking array of golden sculptures, arabesques and finely cabled balustrades. On the walls and c..

Along with São José and Santo Antônio, Recife Antigo is one of the three islands that make up the centre of Recife. In the 1990s, the city council took charge of the rehabilitation of the area. The programme includes salvaging a series of historical ..

You could almost miss N. S. da Conceiçao dos Militares Church, hemmed in among the shops of Rua Nova, one of the most bustling streets in Centro. Its construction, funded by a military brotherhood, spanned the years 1723 to 1771, but the gilding in t..

The Baroque façade of Catedral São Pedro dos Clérigos (18C) is one of the most beautiful in the city. It presents a monumental stone portal flanked by double columns, with heavy sculpted jacaranda doors. Its two tall bell towers accentuate the vert..

The Mercado São José, Recife's main market, is housed beneath an iron structure, the first of its kind in Brazil, imported from Europe in 1875. Its 3 500m 2 surface is not large enough and stands have spilled over into the surrounding streets. This ..

In the Museu do Estado de Pernambuco, you will get an insight into the riches the sugar industry brought to certain families and how, over time, they accumulated a significant artistic wealth, exhibited here. Furniture, objects, paintings, religious ..

Visiting the Oficina de Cerâmica Francisco Brennand is a dreamlike and surreal experience. Installed in a former brick factory, in the middle of the Mata Atlântica and a garden created by Burle Marx, the studio and museum of Francisco Brennand, a wor..

The Dutch Fort Frederik Hendrik (1630) monitored the sugar trade on the Rio Capibaribe, which connected the port to the engenhos (plantations). Its nickname, Forte das Cinco Pontas (due to its layout in a five-pointed star), has endured despite bei..

The MAMAM was created in 1997 in the Boa Vista neighbourhood, and started with the Aloíso Magalhães Gallery. A reference point in Brazil in the field of contemporary visual arts, its collection includes almost 1 000 pieces, including works by Gilvan ..

The completely renovated Museu do Homem do Nordeste is located in a modern building surrounded by gardens. It offers a very rich and varied presentation of different aspects of Pernambucan culture: costumes, homes, everyday objects, crafts and so on...

A breath of fresh air in the densely-built Boa Vista area, the Parque Treze de Maio (1 000m 2 ), designed by Burle Marx (1939), offers a good excuse for a pleasant break. Its wooded alleys, punctuated by stone benches and sculptures by Abelardo Hora,..

The neighbourhoods of São José and Santo Antônio were urbanised by Maurice de Nassau, who designed the extension of Recife onto the neighbouring island of Antônio Vaz to the southwest. Apart from the layout of the streets, vestiges from this era are ..