Santo Amaro

Only 70 kilometers (43 miles) from Salvador [1], Santo Amaro—the hometown of Brazilian musical sibling superstars Caetano Veloso and Maria Betânia—is an attractive and unpretentious Recôncavo [2]. With elegant squares framed by baroque churches and a couple of ruined plantation manors, it’s a pleasant place to wander around for a couple of few hours if you’re on your way to or from Cachoeira [3].

Highlights include the attractive colonial buildings around the Praça da Purificação, among them the 17th-century Igreja Matriz de Nossa Senhora da Purificação, with its Portuguese tiles, and the imposing 18th-century Convento dos Humildes (9 a.m.–1 p.m. Tues.–Sun.), at Praça Padre Inácio Teixeira dos S. Araujo, which houses a small museum of religious art. Don’t leave without sampling the sequilhos, crisp buttery biscuits made by the nuns at the convent.