Largo do Pelourinho (Pillory Square), Salvador

The moment you set foot in this square, you’ll be met with a baroque symphony of ornate church spires, pastel-hued mansions, and the cubist-like patchwork of houses cascading down the steep hillsides. It’s no wonder UNESCO crowned this area as the most important cluster of 17th- and 18th-century colonial architecture in the Americas. High praise—and well-deserved.

Locals have always called it Pillory Square. The name harks back to its grim past as the site of Salvador’s infamous whipping post, where public flogging was a legal spectacle until 1835. But these days, the scene is nothing short of joyful. By day, you may find vendors selling colorful naif paintings and enthusiastically offering to braid tourists’ hair. When the sun sets, the air fills with the hypnotic rhythms of Afro-Bahian blocos like Olodum, whose beats practically demand that you get up and dance.

Amid this lively backdrop, the City Museum calls a stately colonial mansion home. Inside, Catholic saints and ex-votos share space with statues of African deities and Candomblé artifacts. There’s also a secular side, with pieces from local artists and a room dedicated to Castro Alves, the celebrated abolitionist and Romantic poet.

Next door, you’ll find the Jorge Amado House, a small but heartfelt tribute to Bahia’s beloved author of “Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands.” Photos, book covers, and memorabilia fill the rooms, while a cozy on-site café named after his wife, Zélia Gattai, invites you to pause and sip. If that stirs your appetite for even more Bahian flavor, head over to the Bahian Gastronomy Museum—a delightful way to dive into the region’s culinary heritage.