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Roots Earth in Salvador: audio stories about 45 places

Roots Earth has audio stories about 45 places in Salvador, Brazil, in Latin America. The Salvador stories are in all seven Roots Earth languages: English, German, Spanish, Italian, French, Dutch and Albanian. The app needs no account: open Salvador, pick a place on the city's map of places and play. Download a city's audio, then it plays without a connection. The stories are written by local people.

The 45 places are listed below in the order the app shows them, and again further down with their coordinates. The lists were taken from the Roots Earth catalogue on 15 September 2026.

Published 16 September 2026. Markdown: salvador.md

The 45 places in Salvador with audio stories

In the order the app shows them.

  1. Pelourinho
  2. Lacerda Elevator
  3. Church of Nosso Senhor do Bonfim
  4. Church and Convent of Sao Francisco
  5. Cathedral Basilica of Salvador
  6. Terreiro de Jesus
  7. Church of Nossa Senhora do Rosario dos Pretos
  8. Church of the Third Order of Saint Francis
  9. Sao Marcelo Fort
  10. Barra Lighthouse
  11. Fort of Santo Antonio da Barra
  12. Afro-Brazilian Museum
  13. Modelo Market
  14. Rio Branco Palace
  15. Bahia Museum of Art
  16. Museum of Modern Art of Bahia
  17. Church and Monastery of Our Lady of Monserrate
  18. Church of Nossa Senhora da Penha
  19. Fort of Santo Antonio Alem do Carmo
  20. Arena Fonte Nova
  21. Igreja de Sao Francisco
  22. Avenida Sete de Setembro
  23. Historic Center of Salvador
  24. Anglican Chapel of Salvador
  25. Porto da Barra Beach
  26. Campo Grande
  27. Itapagipe Peninsula
  28. Washing of Bonfim
  29. Castro Alves Monument
  30. Jorge Amado House (Pelourinho)
  31. Rio Vermelho
  32. Pituba
  33. Itaigara
  34. Liberdade
  35. Comercio
  36. Ondina
  37. Vitoria
  38. Olodum (Pelourinho)
  39. Pierre Verger Foundation
  40. Salvador Metro
  41. Pirajá (Battle site)
  42. Pagode Baiano (music scene)
  43. Catholic Churches of Salvador
  44. Old Salvador (City Foundation)
  45. Bahia (Recôncavo gateway)

Is there an audio guide for Pelourinho?

Yes. Pelourinho has its audio stories in the Roots Earth app: a short introduction and a deeper story, in English, German, Spanish, Italian, French, Dutch and Albanian.

It is place 1 of the 45 Salvador places in the app, at -12.97123, -38.50839. Every one of the other 44 places in the list above has the same two stories.

Roots Earth is not a guided tour: you choose the place on the city's map of places and play its story yourself.

How to use Roots Earth in Salvador

Open Roots Earth and choose Salvador. The city has its own map of places with all 45 of them on it. Tap the place you are standing in front of, or any other, and play its short introduction or its deeper story. You decide what to listen to and in which order.

You can listen in English, German, Spanish, Italian, French, Dutch and Albanian, and there is no account. Download a city's audio, then it plays without a connection.

In full

All 45 places in Salvador, in the app's order, with their coordinates.

All 45 places in Salvador, with coordinates

Every place below has a short introduction and a deeper story in the Roots Earth app, in English, German, Spanish, Italian, French, Dutch and Albanian. The names, the coordinates (latitude, longitude) and the one line descriptions are the app's own catalogue values of 15 September 2026; a place without a line here has none that this page can print.

1. Pelourinho

Coordinates
-12.97123, -38.50839
In one line
The Pelourinho is the colonial heart of Salvador, a UNESCO World Heritage district of pastel townhouses on steep cobbled slopes. Named for its old whipping post, it endures today as a center of Afro-Brazilian music, faith, and capoeira.

2. Lacerda Elevator

Coordinates
-12.97416667, -38.51333333
In one line
The Lacerda Elevator links Salvador's Upper and Lower cities, rising 72 meters in 30 seconds. First opened in 1873 and rebuilt in Art Deco style in 1930, this public lift remains a city symbol and a working part of daily transit.

3. Church of Nosso Senhor do Bonfim

Coordinates
-12.9171, -38.5079
In one line
Salvador's most beloved church, Nosso Senhor do Bonfim, was built between 1746 and 1772 in Baroque and Rococo style. Famous for the colored wish-ribbons tied at its gates and a room of ex-votos, it bridges Catholic devotion and Candomblé faith.

4. Church and Convent of Sao Francisco

Coordinates
-12.9716, -38.5076
In one line
The Church and Convent of São Francisco is one of the most gold-laden Baroque interiors in the Americas. Begun in 1708 and decorated through the 1750s, it dazzles with gilded woodwork, carved cedar, and roughly 55,000 blue-and-white Portuguese tiles.

5. Cathedral Basilica of Salvador

Coordinates
-12.972897, -38.51033
In one line
Built between 1652 and 1672 as the Jesuit college church, the Cathedral Basilica of Salvador is a Mannerist masterpiece faced in pale Portuguese lioz stone. Its gilded chapels and jacaranda sacristy crown the main church of Brazil's first capital.

6. Terreiro de Jesus

Coordinates
-12.97312, -38.50989
In one line
The Terreiro de Jesus is the historic civic square at the heart of old Salvador, ringed by colonial churches and a fountain. Once the site of the first Jesuit college, it remains a lively meeting place of vendors, music, and street life.

7. Church of Nossa Senhora do Rosario dos Pretos

Coordinates
-12.9705, -38.5082

8. Church of the Third Order of Saint Francis

Coordinates
-12.9715, -38.5073
In one line
A Baroque church in Pelourinho famous for its deeply carved sandstone facade, the only Plateresque front of its kind in Brazil. Inside wait gilded altars, painted ceilings, and more than 27,000 azulejo tiles.

9. Sao Marcelo Fort

Coordinates
-12.9717, -38.5176
In one line
A circular stone sea fort rising from a reef in the Bay of All Saints, the only cylindrical fortress in Brazil. Built in the early 17th century, it guarded the harbor of the colonial capital and once held rebel prisoners.

10. Barra Lighthouse

Coordinates
-13.0103, -38.5327
In one line
A black-and-white tower marking the entrance to the Bay of All Saints, set within the Santo Antonio da Barra Fort. Its first light shone in the 17th century, making it among the oldest lighthouses in the Americas. It now houses a nautical museum.

11. Fort of Santo Antonio da Barra

Coordinates
-13.0103, -38.5328
In one line
One of Brazil's oldest forts, guarding the entrance to the Bay of All Saints at Barra point. Rebuilt over centuries into a star-shaped polygon, it cradles the famous Barra Lighthouse and now houses the Nautical Museum of Bahia.

12. Afro-Brazilian Museum

Coordinates
-12.9727, -38.5098
In one line
Housed in the former Faculty of Medicine on Terreiro de Jesus, this museum gathers art and objects of the African diaspora in Brazil. Its collections illuminate Candomble and Afro-Brazilian heritage, including the celebrated carved orixa panels by Carybe.

13. Modelo Market

Coordinates
-12.974, -38.5142
In one line
Salvador's main crafts market, set in a 19th-century former customs house by the Bay of All Saints. Hundreds of stalls sell Bahian handicrafts, while restaurants and live capoeira fill the building that rose again after repeated fires.

14. Rio Branco Palace

Coordinates
-12.9739, -38.5128
In one line
The former governors' palace of Bahia, perched on the cliff edge of the Upper City. First built in the 16th century and rebuilt in eclectic style after a 1912 bombardment, it now houses a memorial museum to the state's governors.

15. Bahia Museum of Art

Coordinates
-12.993657, -38.525977
In one line
Founded in 1918, the Bahia Museum of Art ranks among the oldest museums in the state. Housed in a Vitória neighborhood palace, it gathers roughly 5,000 works spanning religious sculpture, painting, porcelain, and decorative arts.

16. Museum of Modern Art of Bahia

Coordinates
-12.9826, -38.5206
In one line
Founded in 1960 and set since 1963 in the colonial Solar do Unhão by the Bay of All Saints, this leading modern-art museum was shaped by architect Lina Bo Bardi. It shows Brazilian modernists within converted warehouse galleries.

17. Church and Monastery of Our Lady of Monserrate

Coordinates
-12.9256, -38.5099
In one line
Founded in the 16th century on a point of the Itapagipe Peninsula, this Benedictine church sits below Fort Monserrate, ringed by water on three sides. Once lined entirely with azulejos, it remains one of Salvador's oldest religious sites.

18. Church of Nossa Senhora da Penha

Coordinates
-12.9114, -38.4968
In one line
Completed in 1742 by Archbishop José Botelho de Matos as an extension of his summer home, this Rococo-fronted church crowns the Itapagipe Peninsula at Ribeira. It faces the Bay of All Saints, with three Baroque altars within.

19. Fort of Santo Antonio Alem do Carmo

Coordinates
-12.9642, -38.5076
In one line
Raised on a former Dutch trench and rebuilt in stone by the early 18th century, this fort once guarded northern Salvador. After serving as a prison until 1976, it began hosting the Centro de Cultura Popular da Bahia in 1982 and reopened as Forte da Capoeira in 2006.

20. Arena Fonte Nova

Coordinates
-12.97861111, -38.50416667
In one line
Opened in 2013 to seat 47,902, this horseshoe-shaped stadium replaced the old Estádio Fonte Nova after its partial collapse. Designed by Marc Duwe and Claas Schulitz, it hosted 2014 World Cup matches above the Dique do Tororó.

21. Igreja de Sao Francisco

Coordinates
-12.9716, -38.5075
In one line
Begun in 1708 and completed by 1723, this Franciscan church dazzles with gold-covered carving and some 55,000 Portuguese azulejos, the most of any church in Latin America. It is a Brazilian Baroque masterpiece in the Pelourinho.

22. Avenida Sete de Setembro

Coordinates
-12.983, -38.5155
In one line
Salvador's grand modern boulevard, inaugurated in 1915, runs roughly 4. 6 kilometers from the Barra Lighthouse to Castro Alves Square. Carved through the old city in a Paris-inspired reform, it remains the traditional route for Carnival parades.

23. Historic Center of Salvador

Coordinates
-12.96666667, -38.5
In one line
The colonial heart of Brazil's first capital, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985. Built between the 17th and 19th centuries, it gathers more than 800 painted buildings, baroque churches, and cobbled squares around the famous Pelourinho.

24. Anglican Chapel of Salvador

Coordinates
-12.9897305, -38.52209989
In one line
Salvador's first Anglican place of worship, opened near Campo Grande in 1853 for the city's British merchant community. Built in a restrained Classical style without towers or bells, it was once Brazil's second largest non-Catholic church before its demolition in 1975.

25. Porto da Barra Beach

Coordinates
-13.0065, -38.5316
In one line
A calm, west-facing strand inside the Bay of All Saints, famous for sunsets and ringed by colonial forts. Roughly 300 meters long, it marks the site of Vila Velha, Bahia's first European settlement, and remains Salvador's most beloved beach.

26. Campo Grande

Coordinates
-12.98904, -38.52143
In one line
A leafy public square in central Salvador, laid out from 1850 and finished in 1895. Its centerpiece is the towering Dois de Julho monument, crowned by the Caboclo figure, celebrating Bahia's role in Brazilian independence. The Castro Alves Theater stands alongside.

27. Itapagipe Peninsula

Coordinates
-12.91666667, -38.5
In one line
A low peninsula reaching into the Bay of All Saints, holding ten neighborhoods and some of Salvador's most loved landmarks, including the Bonfim church, the Penha church, and the Monte Serrat monastery. Its Tupi name means place of the stone in the river.

28. Washing of Bonfim

Coordinates
-12.9172, -38.508
In one line
Salvador's great January festival, dating to 1773, blends Catholic and Candomblé devotion. Women in white wash the steps of the Bonfim church with scented water after an 8-kilometer procession from the Conceição da Praia basilica, drawing enormous crowds.

29. Castro Alves Monument

Coordinates
-12.9738, -38.5121
In one line
A bronze statue of the abolitionist poet Castro Alves rises above one of Salvador's busiest squares. Unveiled in 1923 by sculptor Pasquale de Chirico, it honors the "Poet of the Slaves" and marks the symbolic launch point of Bahian Carnival.

30. Jorge Amado House (Pelourinho)

Coordinates
-12.9709, -38.5087
In one line
Set in a pastel townhouse on the Largo do Pelourinho, this foundation honors Jorge Amado, Brazil's most translated novelist. Created on July 2, 1986, it holds a small museum tracing the author of Gabriela and Dona Flor across nearly fifty languages.

31. Rio Vermelho

Coordinates
-13.01, -38.49
In one line
Once a fishing village, Rio Vermelho is now Salvador's bohemian quarter, packed with bars, acarajé stands, and live music. Home to Jorge Amado and Caetano Veloso, it hosts the city's great Iemanjá festival each February.

32. Pituba

Coordinates
-12.9967, -38.4567
In one line
A planned coastal district begun in the early 1900s, Pituba grew into one of Salvador's busiest middle and upper-class neighborhoods. Its avenues, beaches, and shopping centers make it a commercial hub for the modern city.

33. Itaigara

Coordinates
-12.98333333, -38.46666667
In one line
An affluent district in southeastern Salvador, Itaigara is known for its luxury high-rises, leafy streets, and shopping centers. A modern, upscale corner of the city, it sits beside Pituba and the Iguatemi commercial hub.

34. Liberdade

Coordinates
-12.945, -38.495
In one line
One of Salvador's most populous and proudly Afro-Brazilian neighborhoods, Liberdade takes its name from the road victorious troops marched after independence. It is the birthplace of Ilê Aiyê, the pioneering Black Carnival bloco founded in 1974.

35. Comercio

Coordinates
-12.9672, -38.5136
In one line
Salvador's historic Lower City port quarter, Comércio served as the colonial gateway to the city and grew into Brazil's first planned business district. Its waterfront streets, forts, and trading houses sit beneath the Lacerda Elevator.

36. Ondina

Coordinates
-13.01, -38.509
In one line
Ondina is a seafront neighborhood in southern Salvador, home to an urban beach, the city zoo, and a Federal University of Bahia campus. Each February its avenues become the final stretch of Carnival.

37. Vitoria

Coordinates
-12.9963, -38.5274
In one line
Vitória is an upscale district on the slope above the Bay of All Saints, linking Salvador's old city to Barra. Its Corredor da Vitória, a sub-kilometer cultural strip, gathers three museums and some of Brazil's priciest real estate.

38. Olodum (Pelourinho)

Coordinates
-12.9708, -38.5084
In one line
Olodum is the celebrated Afro-Brazilian carnival group founded in Pelourinho in 1979. It pioneered the samba-reggae sound, ran a school for local youth, and brought the drums of Salvador to the world through Michael Jackson and Paul Simon.

39. Pierre Verger Foundation

Coordinates
-12.935, -38.452
In one line
The Pierre Verger Foundation safeguards the archive of the French photographer and ethnographer who settled in Salvador and devoted his life to Candomblé and the Africa-Bahia connection. It holds more than 63,000 of his images.

40. Salvador Metro

Coordinates
-12.98306, -38.49278
In one line
The Salvador Metro is the city's rapid-transit network, opened in 2014 after long delays. Its two lines run roughly 38 kilometers through 22 stations, connecting the downtown Lapa terminal to the suburbs and the airport.

41. Pirajá (Battle site)

Coordinates
-12.89, -38.45
In one line
Pirajá, now a Salvador neighborhood, was the site of the decisive battle of November 8, 1822, in Bahia's war of independence. Brazilian forces held off a Portuguese assault, a turning point on the road to freedom.

42. Pagode Baiano (music scene)

Coordinates
-12.978, -38.49
In one line
Pagode baiano is the fast, percussion-driven dance music born in 1990s Salvador. Powered by groups like É o Tchan and Psirico, it filled the city's parties and Carnival with playful lyrics, swinging rhythm, and choreographed dance.

43. Catholic Churches of Salvador

Coordinates
-12.972, -38.509
In one line
Salvador's old city holds one of the densest collections of colonial churches in the Americas, from the Jesuit cathedral to gold-lined Baroque convents and the chapels built by Afro-Brazilian brotherhoods, each marking centuries of faith and labor.

44. Old Salvador (City Foundation)

Coordinates
-12.974722, -38.476667
In one line
Founded in 1549 by Tomé de Sousa, Salvador served as Brazil's first capital for more than two centuries. Its old town stacks four hundred years of history, from colonial governors and Dutch sieges to slave revolts and Afro-Brazilian culture, into one steep ridge above the bay.

45. Bahia (Recôncavo gateway)

Coordinates
-12.97, -38.48
In one line
Bahia is the cradle of colonial Brazil and the heartland of its African soul. Ringing the vast Bay of All Saints, its fertile Recôncavo grew sugar and tobacco on enslaved labor, giving rise to Candomblé, capoeira and the rhythms that still define Brazilian culture.

Roots Earth in short

Roots Earth has audio stories about 5,665 places in 130 cities, 25 countries and 6 regions, written by local people.

  • No account
  • Download a city's audio, then it plays without a connection
  • Audio stories in English and German in every city, and in Spanish, Italian, French, Dutch and Albanian in 126 of the 130 cities

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