Strolling through São Luís do Maranhão is to move between the historical past with beautiful churches, museums and monuments and the present.
São Luís, the capital of Maranhão, has many particularities: it is the only city in the country founded by the French, it has the largest collection of Portuguese tiles in Latin America and, despite belonging to the Northeast, it is close to the Amazon.
In the Historic Centre of São Luís do Maranhão, the façades of the mansions, adorned with delicate tiles from the then Metropolis, allow you to go back in time – it is a pity, however, that the conservation of this world heritage site disappoints.
But the “Island of Love” (ilha do Amor), as São Luís is known, also has its modern side, as the busy Avenida dos Holandeses and the bars of the charming Lagoa da Jansen remind us.
The influence of the Portuguese, Spanish, French and Dutch has helped shape São Luís’ Historic Centre, making it the true guardian of a vast cultural heritage – part of its 4,000 buildings are recognised by Unesco as World Cultural Heritage.
The unnumbered streets can be quite a mystery to those not used to the city. But most of the hotels and restaurants are in the Ponta D’Areia, Renascença I and II and Calhau neighbourhoods, all interconnected by the long Avenida dos Holandeses, which makes access a little easier.
The Historic Centre, which can be reached by crossing the José Sarney Bridge, is home to most of the attractions, but it is good to plan ahead: on Mondays, most of them are closed. The same occurs on weekends, when shops are closed and there is little traffic, which makes the tour less safe.
The genesis of the tile dates back to the civilisations of the Near and Far East. It was widely used as a decorative wall covering, especially for waterproofing masonry. It came to us from the Iberian Peninsula, especially from Portugal, which achieved great development between the 16th and 19th centuries. […]
Those who want to know the way of life of the wealthy families of São Luís of the past centuries, their customs, habits and curiosities cannot miss visiting the Historical and Artistic Museum of Maranhão. Housed in a 19th-century manor house, the museum reconstructs the dwellings of a São Luís […]
The Ribeirão Fountain or Fonte do Ribeirão is undoubtedly one of the most popular tourist attractions in São Luís. Located between Rua do Ribeirão and Rua dos Afogados, the affective symbol of the city was handed over to the population after a long restoration carried out by the City Hall. […]
The Arthur Azevedo Theatre, one of the most beautiful postcards and an important show house in São Luís, as well as most Brazilian theatres built in the 19th century, was built to meet the wishes of the petty bourgeoisie of Ludovico at the time who, enriched by the prosperous cotton […]
The João Lisboa Square or Praça João Lisboa was initially called Largo do Carmo, due to the Nossa Senhora de Monte Carmelo Convent and Church, the square is linked to important historical facts of the city, such as the battle between the Dutch and the Portuguese. It was the site of […]
The Natural History and Archaeology Research Centre of Maranhão in São Luís holds a collection that includes gems. Even extinct, dinosaurs continue to cause fascination among people. In the Archaeology area, you can see tools, ceramics, lithic materials, tiles, and other relics of the past. In the Ethnology area, you will […]
Maranhão’s popular culture is the theme of the exhibitions at Casa de Nhozinho, a museum housed in an imposing 19th-century mansion located on Rua Portugal, one of the city’s most beautiful streets. The name of the museum is a tribute to the great Maranhão craftsman Antônio Bruno Nogueira, known as […]
Rua do Giz, which was once the setting for a soap opera, once housed an important economic corridor, and in opposition to this, was also the cradle of the bohemian life of São Luís do Maranhão. Among the alleys in the historic area of the city, Rua do Giz (or […]
Like most colonial religious temples in São Luís, the Church of São José do Desterro was rebuilt several times, especially after the fighting between the Portuguese and the Dutch that marked the city’s history. In the beginning it was a small chapel covered in straw with the main door facing […]
The João do Vale Theatre is one of the few spaces for artistic performances in São Luís. The building where it operates was originally a shed that served as a sugar warehouse owned by businessman Rocha Aguiar. Located in Largo do Comércio (Rua da Estrela), the shed was built in […]
The Convent of Mercês, which was also once a barracks, is now the headquarters of the Brazilian Republican Memory Foundation and was recently elected one of the Seven Treasures of São Luís. Its construction began in 1654, when the Mercedarians João Cerveira (from Maranhão de Alcântara) and Marcos Natividade arrived […]
Cine Éden is a sumptuous cinema-theatre whose façade is preserved and retains its original features, including the name of the space in self-relief. In the first half of the 20th century, when São Luís was gaining modern airs, moving from an agrarian-export economy to an urban-industrial one, there was a […]
São Luís do Maranhão was founded by French, invaded by Dutch, colonized by the Portuguese. What was the result of this mixture? São Luís! The capital of Maranhão, in the Northeast, has one of the largest historical heritage sites in Latin America, the result of this amalgamation of different cultures. […]
The Historic Center of São Luís do Maranhão stands out for the uniformity and simple and regular beauty of its buildings, forming one of the largest architectural ensembles of Portuguese essence still preserved in Latin America. The architecture we inherited from the Portuguese is the richest part of São Luís’ […]
Cafua das Mercês in São Luís do Maranhão is a former slave depot, the place tells the history of black people through the exhibition of works of art and objects from the time of slavery, such as instruments of torture. Cafua das Mercês or Museu do Negro (Black Museum) currently […]
The Convent and Church of Nossa Senhora do Carmo are located in Praça João Lisboa, in São Luís and belong to the Capuchin Order. The Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, integrated to the convent, is one of the most important and traditional Catholic temples in the city. The […]
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