Barra: Coast, Photography and History in Salvador
Accommodation in Barra
Barra, a neighbourhood of Salvador, brings together the city’s history, photography and experiences by the water. Today’s Porto da Barra is connected with the founding of the city; the neighbourhood is also home to a fortress complex and cultural institutions. Activities along the waterfront promenade range from walking to skateboarding and inline skating. When searching for a holiday apartment, it helps to consider whether culture, activity or time by the sea will shape your stay.
City history through places and dates
At what is now Porto da Barra, Governor-General Tomé de Sousa landed with men and supplies on 29 March 1549. With this landing, he founded the city of São Salvador da Bahia de Todos os Santos. If you are interested in Salvador’s beginnings, the connection between the landing site, the date and the city’s founding offers a tangible historical point of reference.
Forte São Diogo is part of Salvador’s Barra fortress complex, which also includes Forte Santo Antônio and Forte Santa Maria. The Marco de Fundação da Cidade do Salvador was inaugurated on 29 March 1952. The vertical monument is carved from Portuguese Lioz limestone and bears the symbol of the Portuguese crown and the Cross of Christ. Both dates fall on 29 March: the landing and founding of the city in 1549, and the monument’s inauguration in 1952.
The collection at the Museu Náutico da Bahia includes historical objects from various periods; some lay underwater for up to 300 years. The museum is located in the fort that is also home to the Farol da Barra. Alongside the fortress complex, you can therefore discover a collection of historical objects, including some with a remarkable length of time spent underwater.
The Espaço Pierre Verger da Fotografia Baiana is dedicated to promoting and sharing photography from Bahia. It presents the work of the French-Bahian ethnologist and photographer Pierre Verger, as well as that of more than 100 photographers who were born in Bahia or lived there, even temporarily. The Espaço is located in Forte de Santa Maria at Porto da Barra in Salvador. With interactive and virtual presentations featuring more than 5,000 photographs, visitors can create their own exhibition.
Waterfront activities and things to do in the sea
People cycle, run, walk, skateboard and inline skate on the cycle path along Barra’s waterfront promenade. The waterfront path offers more than one way to stay active: cycling and skating alongside running and walking.
Porto da Barra is suitable for a relaxing swim in the sea as well as water sports such as Hawaiian canoeing and stand-up paddleboarding. At low tide, natural pools form on Barra beach near the Farol. If you plan to visit these pools, take the tide level at your chosen time into account. The stretch of beach near the Cristo, also called Praia Barravento, is different: it has strong waves and is recommended for advanced surfers. This distinguishes calm swimming and the water sports mentioned above from the wave option recommended for advanced surfers.
Choose your holiday focus when searching for accommodation
When choosing a holiday apartment in Barra, one practical question matters: would you like your days to focus more on city history and photography, or on activity and things to do by the water? If your travel group has different interests, you can sort your preferences around these themes. Your preferred holiday focus gives your search for holiday apartments in Barra a clear direction without requiring you to settle on just one activity.
Discover more destinations: Palmeiras, Praia do Forte, Irará, Luis Eduardo Magalhaes, Esplanada, Lençóis, Brumado, Morro De São Paulo
For the full travel overview: Bahia.
