Olinda - Pernambuco

Olinda is situated just 10 minutes, by bus, from Recife; it means, 7 kilometres from the capital.

The denomination Olinda, according to some popular stories, comes from the special beautifulness of the region.

Olinda is a colonial city that is placed over seven mounts, from which, some architectonic Portuguese and Dutch jewels, in a baroque style, can be observed.

In such way, this city is very popular because of its ancient churches, museums and sceneries where terrible battles, between Portuguese and Dutch armies, took place.

Olinda has been proclaimed Human Cultural Patrimony by the UNESCO thanks to its colonial and baroque architecture.

During the celebration of The Carnival, the city offers exciting parties where people dance to the rhythm of orchestras which play frevo and maracatu (folkloric music). A tradition of this celebration is the elaboration of giant puppets.

Is interesting to visit:

Market of Ribeira
Atelier

Churchs
Monastery of San Benito
Convent of Sao Francisco
Church of La Sé

Among the most important beaches, it is possible to mention:

To the north: María Farinha, Pau Amarelo and The Island of Itamaracá.
To the south: Calhetas, Gaibú, Paraíso and Suape.

María Farinha Beach. 39 kilometres from Recife. This is a family beach, excellent for bathing. It is covered by coconut tress, its sand is fine and the water is very calm.

In this beach, many different aquatic sports can be practiced. It also contains a big aquatic park "Veneza Water Park" and an ancient fort "Do Pau Amarelo" that was built in 1719.