Sergipe and Alagoas in Brazil

Few tourists stop off in these two tiny states between Bahia and Pernambuco, but herein lies their charm. Both have fine beaches, easily accessible from the state capitals: Aracaju and Maceió. And both have a series of very pretty Portuguese towns where visitors are still a novelty. The most impressive are Penedo (on the banks of Brazil's 'other' great river, the São Francisco, which forms the border between the two states), Marechal Deodoro (the birthplace of the founder of the Brazilian Republic) and São Cristóvão (the Portuguese capital of Sergipe and Brazil's fourth oldest town). Of the capitals, Maceió is by far the more salubrious, with some excellent beaches and lively nightlife.