Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
NIGHTLIFE
The largest concentration of clubs and bars is just over the bridge, in the São Francisco suburb - but these are on the tacky
side for the most part. In the centre, Rua da Estrela is a good bet for music and a drink, and the city's street-bars and cafés
burst into life at festival times and on Wednesday to Friday nights, when reggae can blast out till dawn. Note that the most
famous reggae bars are out along the beaches.
Antigamente
Rua da Estrela 220
T
98 232 3964.
Traditional restaurant and bar with French-influenced
menu, an antique-looking interior and chairs outside - a
great place to drink and check out the scene. Live
chorinho
Tues-Sat, as well as MPB, with jazz also on Tues.
Mon-Sat 10am-late.
Chez Moi
Rua da Estrela 143
T
98 3221 5877.
Big club
venue on Fri, with DJs spinning on the first floor and live
Brazilian bands upstairs. Sundays are all about live Brazilian
rock. Cover R$15-30.
Fri 10pm-4am, Sun 7pm-2am.
Excadaria
Rua Portugal 39
T
98 8409 5383.
Weekend
party hub, with live samba and
sertanejo
, a cosy bar, potent
caipirinhas
and well-heeled locals.
Fri & Sat 10pm-4am.
Roots Bar
Rua da Palma 85
T
98 3221 7580.
One of the
predominant, hubs for reggae in the centre, with huge DJ
parties every Fri.
Wed & Thurs 6pm-2am, Fri 9pm-5am.
DIRECTORY
Internet
Try the Cyber Café Praia Grande at 48 Rua João
Victal (R$2.50/hr, minimum R$1.25); the Poeme-Se
bookshop also has a few terminals (R$1/15min; R$4/hr),
and there's a basic internet café at Rua de Nazaré 328.
Money and exchange
There's an ATM at the HSBC bank
on Rua do Sol 105 (ATM daily 6am-10pm). Several
branches of Banco do Brasil are located in the centre - Av
Dom Pedro II, for example - open Mon-Fri 10am-4pm.
Post o
ce
The central Correios is at Largo do Carmo, open
Mon-Fri 8am-5pm.
4
Alcântara
Set in a rich tropical landscape on the other side of the bay from São Luís,
ALCÂNTARA
is now no more than a poor village built around the ruins of what was
once the richest town in northern Brazil. Settled briefly in 1613 by the French, the
Portuguese formally established Alcântara in 1648, but São Luís had already eclipsed
the town by the end of the eighteenth century - for the last two hundred years it has
been left to moulder quietly away, and as a result makes an enticing target for a
day-trip. Highlights include the walk through overgrown cobbled streets to the
central
Praça da Matriz
(aka Praça Gomes de Castro), where you can see the ruins of
the Igreja São Matias, the eighteenth-century
Câmara Municipal
(City Hall) and the
old
pelourinho
(whipping post).
Rua da Amargura
, one block east of the main plaza,
is perhaps the most poignant thoroughfare, once lined with the richest mansions in
Brazil, now all ruins. Among the remains are the
Palácio Negro
- the former slave
market - as well as the palaces of the imperial barons (Barões) of Pindaré, São Bento,
Mearim and Grajaú.
In recent years Alcântara has become famous for being the location of the
Brazilian
Space Agency
(Agência Espacial Brasileira;
W
aeb.gov.br) launch site - Brazil launched
its first rocket into space in 2004 and has launched many more since then (mostly for
satellites). The site is strictly off limits.
Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Desterro
Rua Barões de São Bento, off Rua das Mercês • Bell shelter open 24hr • Free
From the main pier, narrow
Ladeira do Jacaré
leads up into the town centre towards
Rua das Mercês and Praça da Matriz, passing tiny
Igreja das Mercês
(usually closed)
and the
Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Desterro
on the way. here's not much to the
simple, white Desterro church itself (which dates back to the 1650s), and the real
highlight here is the stunning view back across the bay and over to Ilha do
Livramento. Look for the small shelter containing two
bells
at the overlook -
local tradition claims that if you ring one of the bells three times, your wish will
come true.
