Porto Seguro in Brazil

Modern Porto Seguro is rapidly developing into southern Bahia's largest and most cosmopolitan coastal city, with residents from all over the world. Located on the Rio Buranhém, which separates the city from Arraial across the water, the attractive dockland area retains a handful of pretty colonial houses. While high up on the hill above is the higgledy-piggledy old centre, a peaceful place with lovely gardens and panoramic views. Here you will find three churches: Nossa Senhora da Misericórdia (1530), Nossa Senhora do Rosário (1534) and Nossa Senhora da Pena (1718). The former jail is also here, with a stone monument marking the landfall of Gonçalo Coelho, the first Portuguese to explore and subsequently map the coast of northeastern Brazil.