Tourist attractions for children in Salvador de Bahia

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Salvador, with its rich cultural heritage and vibrant urban life, offers a wide range of tourist attractions that delight children and teenagers.

From spaces dedicated to reading and science to parks and interactive museums, the city is a veritable playground for little explorers. If you’re planning a visit to the capital of Bahia and are looking for activities that guarantee fun and learning for youngsters, Salvador has varied options that cater for different interests and ages.

In addition to the traditional tourist attractions, the city has places specially designed to stimulate children’s curiosity and enthusiasm.

Each tourist attraction for children offers a unique experience, combining education and entertainment in an engaging way. Whether exploring nature, discovering history, or taking part in playful activities, Salvador offers many opportunities for families to enjoy unforgettable moments together.

Videos about Tourist Sites for Children

Tourist attractions for children in Salvador

These attractions not only offer fun, but are also educational opportunities that help children explore and learn about the world around them.

  1. Monteiro Lobato Children’s Library: A space dedicated to the children’s literary universe, with a vast collection of books and cultural activities aimed at children. Ideal for encouraging reading and the imagination of the little ones.
  2. Museum For the Children: An interactive museum that offers exhibitions and hands-on activities aimed at children’s education and entertainment, stimulating curiosity and learning in a fun way.
  3. Jardim Botânico de Salvador: A place that combines education and nature, offering trails, picnic areas and a vast collection of plants. It’s a great opportunity for children to learn about flora and the importance of environmental preservation.
  4. Nautical Museum: This museum explores the history of navigation and the world of boats and ships, with interactive exhibits that fascinate children and help them understand the importance of navigation in history.
  5. Palacete das Artes Rodin: Although more focused on art, the Palacete das Artes offers exhibitions and activities that may be interesting for children, especially those with an interest in the visual arts.
  6. City Park: An extensive urban park that offers play spaces, green areas for picnics and outdoor activities. It’s a great place for children to let loose and have fun.
  7. Playland: An amusement park with a variety of rides and attractions that guarantee fun and entertainment for children of all ages.
  8. Tour Bahia Histórica: An opportunity to explore Salvador’s rich history in an engaging way, with guided tours that can include interactive and educational aspects for children.
  9. Zoológico: Salvador’s zoo is a place where children can see and learn about a variety of animals, promoting awareness of wildlife and conservation.
  10. Museu de Arte Moderna da Bahia: Although it is an art museum, many of the exhibitions and activities are designed to engage visitors of all ages, including children, through educational events and programmes.
  11. Solar Ferrão Cultural Centre: A cultural space that offers activities and exhibitions that can appeal to children’s curiosity, providing an immersion in local culture and history.

1. Monteiro Lobato Children’s Library

Conceived and created by Professor Denise Fernandes Tavares, the Monteiro Lobato Children’s Library was inaugurated on 18/04/1950 and is the second library in the country dedicated exclusively to children and young people.

Biblioteca Infantil Monteiro Lobato em Salvador
Monteiro Lobato Children’s Library in Salvador

The library mainly promotes the initiation to reading and the formation of new readers. The collection includes the complete works of children’s author Monteiro Lobato, as well as some of the author’s personal objects and texts.

Address: Praça Almeida Couto, Nazaré.

2. Museu For the Children – Museum for Children

Other good walking tips in Salvador include the Museu For the Children, a space that values culture and promotes integration through leisure activities, and the Museu da Ciência e Tecnologia (MET).

Museu para Crianças em Salvador
Museum for Children in Salvador

With the aim of ‘teaching through play’, the Museum For the Children has modern equipment that interacts with visitors.

To entertain children aged 3 to 11 in an educational way, the Museum for The Children brings together culture, science and leisure in the same space. Located in the neighbourhood of Patamares, the museum is housed in a house that has been fully adapted to welcome children.

Among the rooms in the house, you’ll find:

  • Dinosaur replicas
  • Bottles that produce whirlpools
  • Soap bubble room
  • Jabutis nursery
  • Library
  • Tree with little house

A highlight is the fair hall, equipped with fruit and vegetables, cash registers, fake money, baskets and scales.

Outside, in the garden, children can venture into:

  • Giant roller skates (to climb and walk round)
  • Spider web
  • Swings
  • Water mattress (for resting)

Everything is at the disposal of the children, who can move around freely and touch everything they want. Among the toys, there is a gigantic chessboard and an earthquake simulator, which not only entertains, but also conveys important notions for learning.

Address: Rua do Mangalô, 154, Colina A.

3. Salvador Botanical Garden

The Jardim Botânico de Salvador was created on 22 March 2002.

jardim botânico de salvador
botanical garden of salvador

The result of the transformation of the former Horto da Mata dos Oitis into a botanical garden, the space covers 17 hectares and brings together various species, including:

  • Oiti-da-bahia
  • Jacarandá-da-bahia
  • Species linked to candomblé
  • Other species endemic to the Atlantic Forest biome

In addition, the garden is home to more than 60,000 plants from various biotypes, such as:

  • Atlantic Forest
  • Amazon
  • Cerrado
  • Caatinga
  • Restinga
  • Mangrove

Address: Avenida São Rafael, s/n, São Marcos.

4. Nautical Museum

The Nautical Museum, located at the Farol da Barra, is an excellent destination for little explorers.

This museum brings together several replicas of boats and caravels, which tell, in a playful and illustrated way, the story of the vessels that were shipwrecked near the Bahian coast.

Museu Náutico de Salvador da Bahia
Nautical Museum in Salvador da Bahia

During the visit, children have the opportunity to learn about:

  • Hydrography
  • Navigational Signalling
  • Cartography

Address: Largo do Farol da Barra, s/n – Forte Santo Antônio da Barra – Barra

See also the Museums of Salvador that show the history of Bahia.

5. Rodin Palace of Arts

The Palacete das Artes Rodin Bahia is a must-see in Salvador for art lovers.

This historic mansion houses:

  • Temporary exhibitions by various modern and contemporary artists
  • A permanent exhibition with 62 pieces in plaster by Auguste Rodin

In addition to the exhibitions, the space offers a cultural programme with:

  • Courses
  • Workshops
  • Events aimed at scholars and art lovers

Rua da Graça, 289 – Graça, Salvador – BA

Palacete das Artes Rodin em Salvador
Rodin Palace of the Arts in Salvador

History of the Palacete das Artes Rodin Bahia

The Palacete do Comendador Bernardo Martins Catharino, also known as the ‘Villa Catharino’, was inaugurated in 1912. Designed by the architect Rossi Baptista and decorated by Oreste Sercelli, it is considered one of the most beautiful buildings in Salvador.

In 1986, the building was listed by the Institute of Artistic and Cultural Heritage of Bahia (IPAC). In 2003, it was selected to host the Palacete das Artes Rodin Bahia, due to its resemblance to the Hotel Biron, which houses the Rodin Museum in Paris.

The Palacete currently consists of:

  • Casarão
  • Contemporary Room
  • Souvenir Shop
  • Café-Bar
  • Garden

6. City Park

The Parque da Cidade Joventino Silva, popularly known as the Parque da Cidade, was created in 1973, remodelled in 2001 and again in 2014, and reopened in June 2016.

Ambiente para lazer no Parque da Cidade de Salvador
Leisure environment in Salvador’s City Park

The park has around 720,000 square metres of green area and is a place of preservation of the Atlantic Forest, the original vegetation of the Brazilian coast. It is also the only place in the city where there is a transition from the Atlantic forest to the dunes, allowing for the presence of various species of fauna and flora.

Among the attractions at Novo Parque are:

  • Skate rink
  • Bicycle path
  • Cooperative Track
  • Sports courts
  • Gym equipment
  • Children’s Playground
  • Meditation Square
  • Chess game
  • Capoeira game
  • Slackline Circuit
  • Mini Bike Circuit
  • Forests
  • Amphitheatre
  • Car park

Address: Rua Antonio Carlos Magalhães, s/n

7. Playland

Inside Shopping Iguatemi, Playland offers a variety of electronic toys and attractions that appeal to both children and teenagers.

It’s a guaranteed space for fun and entertainment, with several options of games and interactive activities.

Address: Avenida Tancredo Neves, 148, Shopping Iguatemi

8. Historic Bahia Tour

Pontos turísticos do nordeste
Pelourinho in Salvador

The Historical City Tour in Salvador is an enchanting tour of 4 hours through the city of Salvador de Bahia, the first capital of Brazil. This tour offers an immersion in the rich local culture, influenced by African peoples who have left their mark on music, food and religion.

During the tour, you will have the opportunity to explore the Pelourinho, the heart of the city’s Historic Centre, which is a World Heritage Site. This place stands out as one of the main points of the tour, revealing all the strength and vivacity of Bahian culture.

See Principal Tourist Spots of Pelourinho

9. Zoo

Inaugurated in 1958 under the name of Zoobotânico Getúlio Vargas, the Zoológico de Salvador is a place of leisure and ecological refuge located in the centre of Salvador. With a green area of approximately 250,000 m², the zoo integrates remnants of the Atlantic Forest and is reserved for exhibiting wild animals.

Zoológico em Salvador
Zoo in Salvador

Attractions and Species

  • 152 species of animals, of which 141 are Brazilian fauna and 11 are exotic wild fauna.
  • The zoo is home to 1225 animals, divided into:
  • 86 species of birds
  • 38 types of mammal
  • 28 species of reptiles

Functions and Activities

Salvador Zoo is a reference centre for fauna and flora research. In addition to its exhibitions, the zoo carries out activities such as:

  • Preservation and reproduction
  • Conservation and enrichment of the Atlantic Forest fragment
  • Landscaping and setting enclosures
  • Environmental education

Address: Rua Alto de Ondina, s/n

10. Bahia Museum of Modern Art

One of the most beautiful architectural complexes on the shores of the Baia de Todos-os-Santos, the Solar do Unhão houses the Museu de Arte Moderna da Bahia, which brings together more than two thousand works by renowned Brazilian painters such as Di Cavalcanti, Portinari and Tarsila do Amaral.

Museu de Arte Moderna da Bahia em Salvador
Museum of Modern Art of Bahia in Salvador

1. History

  • Construction: The manor house was built in the 17th century in stone masonry to be the residence of the judge Pedro Unhão Castelo Branco.
  • Original Structure: The original complex consisted of large houses, senzala, chapel, storage room and aisles.

2. Transformations and the present

  • Commercial Adaptation: Over time, the manor house was adapted for commercial purposes.
  • Refurbishment and Museum: In 1962, the manor house was refurbished and transformed into the Museum of Modern Art of Bahia.
  • Sculpture Park: The manor’s garden was transformed into the Sculpture Park, exhibiting pieces by artists such as Caribé and Mário Cravo.

Address: Avenida do Contorno, s/n, Graça

11. Solar Ferrão Cultural Centre

The Solar Ferrão Cultural Centre is an important space for art, culture and memory located in one of the most significant monuments in the Historic Centre of Salvador.

Centro Cultural Solar Ferrão em Salvador
Solar Ferrão Cultural Centre in Salvador

History

  • Trusted: The mansion was listed by the National Historical and Artistic Heritage Institute (IPHAN) in 1938.
  • Construction: It was built between the end of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th century, featuring remarkable architecture with six floors.

Attractions and Collections

1. Solar Ferrão Gallery

Contemporary art exhibitions and cultural events.

2. Abelardo Rodrigues Museum

Houses a diverse collection of art and cultural artefacts.

3. Special Collections
  • Claudio Masella African Art: Exhibitions of African art.
  • Popular Art: Popular art and crafts.
  • Sound Plastics by Walter Smetak: Works of art that explore the relationship between sound and form.
  • Traditional Musical Instruments Emília Biancardi: Collection of traditional musical instruments.

Address: Largo do Pelourinho, s/n, Pelourinho

Tourist attractions for families with children in Salvador de Bahia

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