Elevador Lacerda

To the right of the Palácio do Rio Branco [1], overlooking the ocean, you can’t miss Salvador [2]’s postcard landmark: the elegantly streamlined, recently restored art deco Elevador Lacerda, which since the 1930s has been shuttling lines of Soteropolitanos up and down from the Cidade Baixa [3] to the Cidade Alta.

Open 24 hours a day, it only takes 20 seconds for each of its four elevators to transport its passengers—more than 50,000 of them daily—for a mere 10 centavos. If you want to visit the Mercado Modelo [4], catch a local bus to Bonfim [5] from Praça Cairu, or grab a boat to Itaparica [6], the Elevador comes in handy.

Otherwise, have a seat at the famous Sorveteria Cubana (tel. 71/3322-7000, 9 a.m.–10 p.m.), another 1930s landmark, with comfortable seats overlooking the Bay of All Saints [7], and indulge in icy treats such as a coco espumante (a fizzy old-fashioned coconut ice-cream soda), a banana split, or more tropical flavors such as coco verde and cupuaçu. A Bahian joke states that taking a ride on their beloved elevator is the only way to ascend in life.