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Recife, the capital of Pernambuco, is one of the largest and most important cities on the northeastern coast of Brazil. This lively capital, originally founded by Dutch colonizers, is brimming with a vibrant culture, an interesting old town (which includes the oldest synagogue in the Americas) and some nice beaches.
Recife is on the Atlantic coast, at the mouth of the Capibaribe, Beberibe and Jordão Rivers, close to the easternmost point of the Americas. The climate is tropical, with two main seasons: dry (September–March) and rainy (April–August). The average annual temperature is 26°C (78.8°F), with limited variation. The city, which is only two meters above sea level (some parts are below), is distributed across rivers, canals, and islands. Due to the prevalence of waterways in its geography, Recife is known as Veneza Brasileira (Brazilian Venice). Its 1.5 million inhabitants (3.5... Read more
Recife, the capital of Pernambuco, is one of the largest and most important cities on the northeastern coast of Brazil. This lively capital, originally founded by Dutch colonizers, is brimming with a vibrant culture, an interesting old town (which includes the oldest synagogue in the Americas) and some nice beaches.
Recife is on the Atlantic coast, at the mouth of the Capibaribe, Beberibe and Jordão Rivers, close to the easternmost point of the Americas. The climate is tropical, with two main seasons: dry (September–March) and rainy (April–August). The average annual temperature is 26°C (78.8°F), with limited variation. The city, which is only two meters above sea level (some parts are below), is distributed across rivers, canals, and islands. Due to the prevalence of waterways in its geography, Recife is known as Veneza Brasileira (Brazilian Venice). Its 1.5 million inhabitants (3.5 million in the Grande Recife) are called recifenses. Services are the base of the economy. Recife is famous for its beaches, history, Carnaval, arts, and cuisine.
The city can be roughly divided into four major areas:
The term Grande Recife is used to describe the Metropolitan Region of Recife, the fifth largest urban agglomeration in Brazil (after São Paulo, Rio de Janeio Belo Horizonte, and Porto Alegre) and the single largest in the Northeast. Grande Recife offers superb touristic attractions both in Recife proper and outside the city limits. Do not miss Olinda or Porto de Galinhas. The first is famous for its natural setting, colonial architecture, and carnaval, while the second has been consistently voted the best beach in Brazil. Cabo de Santo Agostinho, Itamaracá Island, and Igarassu are known for their beautiful beaches and important historical monuments.
Taxi is the best bet. Look for registered taxi companies which charge standard rates. Ask for a car with air conditioning (especially in the summer).
Buses are the most useful form of mass transportation. The Sistema Estrutural Integrado (Integrated Structural System), known as SEI, has 119 bus lines which are integrated with the subway system at 13 points throughout the metropolitan area.
MetroRec, Recife's subway system, is the third largest in Brazil, although it still covers only limited areas of the city. 13 of the 28 stations have connections to the SEI metro bus system and, depending on your destination, it may be possible to purchase a single combination subway/bus ticket. MetroRec has three basic lines:
Recife is known for its amazing beaches.
The convent also houses the Museu Franciscano de Arte Sagrada (Franciscan Museum of Sacred Art).
Recife is the third largest theater production center in Brazil, after São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The most traditional theater is Teatro Santa Isabel, while the most modern is the one at Convention Center of the Federal University of Pernambuco.
Smaller Theaters:
Soccer teams from Recife participate in the A-Series (First Division) Brazilian Championship, the Brazil Cup, Pernambucan Championship, and the Copa Libertadores da América.
The three most traditional teams are Clube Nautico Capibaribe 2 (home: Aflitos Stadium); Sport Clube do Recife 3 (home: Ilha do Retiro Stadium); and Santa Cruz Futebol Clube 4 (home: Arruda Stadium). Nautico and Sport are currently in the A-Series Brazilian Championship. Santa Cruz is in the C-Series.
Recife is home to internationally famous soccer players including Juninho Pernambucano, Rivaldo, Ricardo Rocha, and Vavá.
The city of Recife is home to some of Brazil's top roller hockey teams: Clube Portugues do Recife, Clube Nautico Capibaribe, Sport Clube do Recife and Associacão Amigos do Minho do Recife. Both Clube Portugues and Sport have been national champions.
Pernambuco has multicultural gastronomy with African and indigenous influences, among others. The national dish Feijoada (a stew of beans, pork, and beef, served with rice and Farofa) is not very popular in Recife. On the other hand, some ingredients which are widely used in Recife are hardly found in the South of Brazil, as manioc flour (which is the main ingredient of tapioca), cuscuz (corn flour). pumpkin, jerked beef, goat or lamb. Seafood is exotic and delicious. The regional food has some peculiarities like Carne de Sol and buchada, a dish prepared with the stomach of billy goat.
Recife is the gastronomic capital of the Northeast. There are more high-quality restaurants here than in any other city in Brazil north of Rio de Janeiro.
Fancy sitting around all day on the beach under a beach umbrella? Well, you can! The chairs and the guy that moves the umbrella are free. All they ask in return is that you buy your food and drink from them.
They all carry a menu and the food arrives quickly and freshly made on the beach. Try the seafood. The fish is usually caught locally and earlier that same day.
Apart from your own vendor, there will be a variety of vendors walking up and down the beach, selling a variety of things. Learning the language for these items is useful but unnecessary as the vendor will take the time to show you what he/she has on offer.
There are many many bars in Recife, most, if not all, serving food as well as drinks. The prices are cheap.
At the less classy end of the market, there are some great bars. They don't have great signage to tell you that it's a bar. Basically, if you see some plastic garden furniture in the street, you are looking at a bar. These are usually the most fun places with the loudest people and the best vibe. Be careful of the ice in places like this as it might not be made from bottled water. It also helps to have a good constitution of you are going to eat in these bars.
There are bars of varying quality up and down the streets of Recife. A few good picks include the following:
LOCAL TIME
5:13 pm
May 19, 2022
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So, after a rich tour program, we have two days of a beach holiday. That's great! We woke up at 6 o'clock in the morning, looked out the window, and saw there wind and rain... But the rain quickly stopped, the sun began to peep. Here's sansevieria or mother-in-law’s plant. It is... |
This is Convento de Sao Francisco.
We are going into the courtyard of the monastery.
We visited several rooms. This is a ceiling.
Cat is man's best friend.
We came inside the church.
This is a ceiling.
We went into one of the rooms for the clergy.
There is the ocean nearby... |
We came to Mosteiro de Sao Bento
. We saw it from the observation deck of the Cathedral.
Some greenery grows on the roof.
We went inside.
Here's a ceiling.
And in the other direction.
What I like about the Catholic churches, is that you can sit there.
We left... |
We arrived at the former slave market. There are souvenir shops now, carnival dolls are also stored there.
We are leaving.
Here's such a small place.
We came from there.
And now we are going down.
You can see Igreja do Carmo that we passed previously.
We are going... |
Let's go through the streets of Olinda and visit a souvenir shop.
Let's also go there. We bought there some things for souvenirs.
It is impossible not to shoot surroundings. Recife - the city of skyscrapers - is in the distance, and Olinda is the city of tiled roofs.... |
Olinda
was founded by the Portuguese in 1535. According to the legend, when they saw a beautiful valley, they exclaimed: "Oh, linda!" ("Oh, what a beauty!"). So the name has remained.
The Old Town of Olinda was included in the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1982.
Cathedral of... |
We arrived in Recife. Look at these houses!
We arrived at the prison...
Look, how many cells it has!
We went inside. Corridors stretch to the left and to the right from this site.
Now the prison was turned into a complex of souvenir shops. Cells were rented and now there is a ... |