12 Best Things to Do in Recife & Olinda: Marco Zero, Brennand, Churches & Reefs

From seventeenth-century Sephardic heritage and Baroque cedar-and-gold chapels to monumental ceramic sculpture parks and low-tide coral pools, Recife and Olinda pack five centuries of Northeastern Brazilian culture into a compact coastal corridor. Here are the twelve essential experiences.

1. Historic Islands, Museums, and Bridges of Recife

1. Stand at Marco Zero & Cross to the Sculpture Park: Start on the Cícero Dias wind-rose mosaic of Praça Rio Branco (Marco Zero) and hop on a three-minute rowboat across the harbour to Parque das Esculturas Francisco Brennand on the ocean reef wall.
2. Walk Rua do Bom Jesus & Visit Kahal Zur Israel (1636): Stroll the palm-lined cobbles of Rua do Bom Jesus to tour the Sinagoga Kahal Zur Israel, the first synagogue in the Americas, and see the four-metre Carnival puppets at the Embaixada dos Bonecos Gigantes.
3. Experience Paço do Frevo & Cais do Sertão: Discover Pernambuco's UNESCO-listed Carnival brass music at Paço do Frevo and the waterfront Cais do Sertão museum dedicated to Luiz Gonzaga.
4. Tour the Golden Capela Dourada (1696 to 1724): Cross to Santo Antônio Island to admire the carved cedar-and-gold-leaf interior of the Franciscan Capela Dourada and the 1855 former prison cells of the Casa da Cultura.
5. Cruise the Capibaribe River by Catamaran: Glide beneath the historic bridges of central Recife on a late-afternoon Capibaribe River catamaran tour.

2. The Twin Brennand Worlds and UNESCO-Listed Olinda

6. Explore Instituto Ricardo Brennand in Várzea: Spend half a day inside the brick castle complex of Instituto Ricardo Brennand to see the world's largest collection of seventeenth-century Dutch Brazil landscapes by Frans Post alongside 3,000 medieval suits of armour and swords.
7. Walk the Ceramic Temple of Oficina Francisco Brennand: Across the Várzea forest, wander among 2,000 monumental ceramic totems and kilns created by Francisco Brennand in his father's 1917 brickworks.
8. Climb to Alto da Sé & Mosteiro de São Bento in Olinda: Spend a morning on the cobblestone hills of UNESCO-listed Olinda visiting the 1582 Monastery of São Bento, the Franciscan azulejo cloister, and the panoramic terrace of Alto da Sé.

3. Urban Reefs and Pernambuco Coast Excursions

4. Pernambuco Sweets: Bolo de Rolo & Cartola

Between sightseeing stops, order a slice of bolo de rolo with espresso.

9. Stroll Boa Viagem Beach at Low Tide: Walk the eight-kilometre palm promenade of Praia de Boa Viagem when low tide reveals the offshore sandstone reef wall.
10. Sail by Jangada to the Reef Pools of Porto de Galinhas: Travel 60 kilometres south to Porto de Galinhas to swim with reef fish in crystal-clear coral tide pools.
11. Photograph the Beachfront Chapel at Praia dos Carneiros: Visit the eighteenth-century white Capela de São Benedito right on the coconut-palm sands of Tamandaré.
12. Tour Forte Orange (1631) on Ilha de Itamaracá: Head 50 kilometres north to the Dutch-Portuguese star fortress of Forte Orange and Coroa do Avião.