2 Best Sights in Salvador and the Bahia Coast, Brazil

Once the "whipping post" for runaway for slaves, this square now serves as the cultural heart of Salvador's Historic Center, with regular live music performed in front of the colorful colonial buildings. The four public stages are named after characters in Jorge Amado novels; a museum on the acclaimed author, who lived from 1912 to 2001, borders the upper end of the square. While summer months see performances nightly, year-around Tuesdays and Sundays are the days not to miss for music in the Pelourinho. The small plaza commemorates the day in 1888 when Princesa Isabel, daughter of Dom Pedro II, signed the decree that officially ended slavery.

This wide plaza lined with 17th-century houses sits in the heart of historic Salvador. Where nobles once strolled under imperial palm trees, there's a crafts fair on weekends. In the afternoons, a group of locals practice capoeira—a stylized dance-like fight with African origins—to the sound of the berimbau, a bow-shape musical instrument.