Top Things to do in Simoes Filho
Top Restaurants in Simoes Filho
9 Things to Do in Simoes Filho That You Shouldn't Miss
Discover the best top things to do in Simoes Filho, Brazil including Praia da Espera, Vilas do Atlantico Beach, Pelourinho, Igreja Sao Francisco de Assis, Busca Vida Beach, Igreja da Ordem Terceira de Sao Francisco, Buraquinho Beach, Cidade do Saber Theater, Ponte do Lloyd.
Restaurants in Simoes Filho
1. Praia da Espera
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 164 reviews
Reviewed By Camila S - Sao Paulo, SP
Very close to Praia do Forte by car. It is a part of Praia de Itacimirim. It has calm sea, good for children, also very young children.
There are 2 simple restaurants that prepare apetizers, drinks and some dishes. Not exactly a gastronomic experience, but certainly fresh fish and a delicious água de coco.
2. Vilas do Atlantico Beach
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 821 reviews
Reviewed By fabianaamoed
Vilas is a good choice for a day at the beach in a urban area nearby Salvador... the barracas are cool and have great options of appetizers and cold beer
3. Pelourinho
Overall Ratings
4 based on 13 reviews
Sometimes called the "city within a city," this old part of Salvador is worth visiting for its cobblestone streets, pastel-colored buildings, churches, restaurants, shops and nightlife.
Reviewed By Vincent_van_Halsema
It's very touristic of course, but it's absolutely charming and beautiful. Lovely Caribbean vibes, great to walk around. Don't stray to the non-touristic side as this is effectively a favela with high crime rates, stay by the church and to the left of it and you'll have a great time. Check out the restaurant Cuco Bistrot if you want excellent food.
4. Igreja Sao Francisco de Assis
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 104 reviews
Reviewed By Juliana A - Barueri, SP
Ir só para ver a igreja não tem muita graça. Como estávamos no caminho para jantar paramos. É bem bonitinha, mas nada além...
5. Busca Vida Beach
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 136 reviews
Reviewed By fabianaamoed
Bisca Vida is a very private beach right after Buraquinho. Its close to Salvador, and near Vilas do atlantico area, which makes a great option if you also want to be close to restaurante and commerce.
Its a place to relax with privace and enjou nature
6. Igreja da Ordem Terceira de Sao Francisco
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 135 reviews
Reviewed By Vincent M - New Orleans, Louisiana
The Church of the Ordem Terceira de São Francisco (I’ll call it the Ordem Terceira for short) is so overshadowed by the church and convent next door (which I’ll call Sao Francisco to avoid confusion), that it isn’t even listed as one of the 216 Salvador attractions in TA. To put this in perspective, a few years ago there was an internet election for the Seven Wonders of Brazil from a list of 49 contenders running the gamut from ancient ruins to the Itaipu hydroelectric dam; of Bahia’a seven candidates, only two were churches: the Ordem Terceira and Sao Francisco. No Bahian entry was a national winner, but an accidental result of the exercise was that since Bahia had exactly 7 contenders, you could consider the Ordem Terceira to be one of the 7 Wonders of the entire state of Bahia, as well as one of the state’s two most remarkable churches. The Ordem Terceira’s sculptured façade is doubly amazing. First for artistry: it’s unique in Brazil. Second for improbability: the entire façade was rediscovered: the only close parallel I know to its strange story is the rediscovery of a 5.5-tonne solid gold Buddha at Wat Traimit in Bangkok. (I and over 3,000 other folks have reviewed Wat Traimit, but no one’s reviewed the Ordem Terceira. Go figure. FYI: Bahia’s other 5 candidates were the Elevador Lacerda, Barra Fort, Sao Marcelo Fort, Casa da Torre in Mata de Sao Joao, and the Sanctuary Grotto of Bom Jesus de Lapa.)
The Franciscan Third Order is a remarkable institution; its members included Michelangelo, Sir Thomas More, Joan of Arc, and both Columbus and da Gama (I discuss the Franciscan tertiaries in more detail in a review of Rio’s Sao Francisco da Penitencia). The tertiaries built their first church in Salvador in 1644, and completed the current church on the same site in 1705. In the 1820s, after Waterloo, Brazil was awash with émigré French academicians, all touting the merits of Neoclassicism. So the tertiaries redesigned this entire church inside and out, replacing its gorgeous façade with a Neoclassical one. By the end of 19th century, there was virtually no one alive who even remembered what the old church had looked like, except as tales told by their grandparents. Then, in the 1930s, church authorities decided to install electric lights on the façade. As an electrician was merrily hammering away, a section of the Neoclassical façade’s plaster broke away and fell to the ground, exposing part of the marvelous Baroque stonework—it hadn’t been destroyed; it had simply been plastered over. The Brazilian government promptly put it under national protection as a priceless heritage, and it has now been completely uncovered to its 1705 appearance (see Ordem Terceira façade photos). The light beige façade is punctuated with three massive green doors at street level and two smaller green doors with wrought terraces at the organ loft level. Between the two upper doors, a bone white statue of St Francis contemplating a human skull visually jumps out at you. Christian saints and icons compete with cornices, birds, pediments, mermaids and mythological figures for every square inch of the rest of the façade. The church is set back from rua da Ordem Terceira by a forecourt with a white stucco wall, where an imposing stone portal pairs perfectly with the façade. If I had to specify the façade’s style, I’d call it Spanish colonial Churrigueresque, but this church doesn’t pigeon-hole easily; Brazilian authorities say it’s Plateresco. If you’ve ever seen the façade of the Sagrario church in Mexico City, you’ll know why I’m sticking to Churrigueresque.
The interior of Orden Terceira is Neoclassical, albeit with a few surviving Baroque touches. It’s not as spectacular as the interior of Sao Francisco, but it’s about three times better than the interior of the French Neoclassical Cathedral in my home town, which TA rates as #2 of 288 attractions in New Orleans! The altar is Neoclassicism at its best, with wonderful symmetry: five oval platforms and seven ascending rows of tall candlesticks direct your eyes upward toward the cross. The altar is framed by tall golden Corinthian columns on either side. Large windows above the apse provide sunlight to assist the electric candles; the candlesticks themselves, however, as well as the vases and other altar decorations, date back to 1835 (Ordem Terceira Altar photo). Similar gilt columns and other design elements of the main altar are used in the side chapels running down the nave (Ordem Terceira Chapels photo). The floor plan is a simple rectangle—no transept, no crossing. The upper windows have interior wrought iron balconies, and the organ loft has a spectacular railing running across the entire nave. The ceiling is completely covered with ornamental coffers and paintings (Ordem Terceira Nave and Loft photo).
There are several other attractions in this church’s complex (Ordem Terceira Room photo), but I’ll just mention two. First, the Neoclassical Hall of Saints with dozens of life-sized statues is worth a brief look. Some saints are instantly recognizable. Some are not—their St. Louis doesn’t look like either a king or a crusader. At least one, the black O.B. Sao Antonio de Loures, is downright obscure, but photogenic. (Hall of Saints, Sao Luiz Rei, Antonio de Loures photos).
Second, the cloister and rear corridors are lined with Portuguese blue-and-white tiles and painted murals (Azulejo in Cloister photos). Some murals are interesting; one depicts St. Isabel appeasing two armies about to join battle; Isabel was not only the queen and patron saint of Portugal, but a Franciscan tertiary to boot (Isabel Prevents Battle photo). The azulejo varies from memorable in the cloister, to a few downright dreadful ones in side-passageways which apparently were laid from left-over tiles in crazy-quilt fashion by lunatic tilers who’d had too much to drink, under the direction of villainous saboteurs; perhaps the workers had been stiffed of their wages on a prior church job (Leftovers or Madmen photo). All the really good azulejo panels have informative labels in eight different languages, but the labels are useless—every last one just informs you “don’t touch the tiles!” However, you’ll find a Portuguese description of the scene on the azulejo itself. The cloister tiles depict Lisbon in the first half of the 18th century. You can see the 1729 royal wedding of Prince Joseph and Princess Mariana (Royal Wedding photo), spice-laden ships arriving at the riverfront (Tagus Traffic photo) and notable landmarks of what had been the richest capital in Europe (Arco dos Italianos photo). 25 years after these tiles were shipped to Salvador, the world they depicted was gone with the wind. In 1755 Lisbon was levelled by one of the most catastrophic earthquakes in history (aftershocks caused damage as far away as Boston); the progressive minister Pombal seized the opportunity to demolish anything left standing and replace it all with a radically different city; and Joseph and Mariana’s daughter Maria I would wind up, mad as a hatter, being hustled off to Brazil as Napoleon’s conquering army was marching through Lisbon’s gates.
Tips: There’s a nominal fee. If you’re walking down the Large of Sao Francisco from the main square, a left turn puts you on rua da Ordem Terceira and the façade of Ordem Terceira is unmistakable a few meters away; a right turn puts you onto rue de Sao Francisco and gets you to the visitor entrance to that church (the street just makes a name change as it passes the largo). While the Ordem Terceira really should be rated as one of the top attractions in Salvador, Sao Francisco’s interior and witty azujelo make it the clear-cut #1. Therefore, if you intend to do them back-to-back, I recommend you visit Ordem Terceira first, for the same reason that I’d recommend seeing Santa Maria in Trastevere before going to San Pietro, rather than the other way round. Sao Francisco in Salvador, like St Peter’s in Rome, would make any other church you visit afterwards, relatively unimpressive.
7. Buraquinho Beach
Overall Ratings
4 based on 329 reviews
Reviewed By maggiepin - london
great Beaches at high tide for Surfing and swimming, at low tide for rock pools and walking. At each beach entrance from the road there are a couple of eateries, serving food and drink. Plus there are beach sellers, coconut sellers, ice cream, etc. Deck chairs and umbrellas can be hired for around 4-6Reais. A bargain!
8. Cidade do Saber Theater
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 3 reviews
Reviewed By Tânia E - Salvador, BA
Com excelente estrutura e mais de 500 lugares, o Teatro da Cidade do Saber é o segundo maior da Bahia!!
Trouxe para a cidade um espaço cultural com mudanças positivas para a cidade, trazendo mais cultura e entretenimento local!!
9. Ponte do Lloyd
Overall Ratings
4 based on 1 reviews
Reviewed By Regis S - Florianopolis, SC
A Ponte do Lloyd foi mandada construir pelo Lloyd Brasiliero, uma antiga companhia de navegação, na primeira metade do século XX. Sua principal função era embarcar a produção de cacau para os países consumidores do produto.
Hoje em dia a Ponte do Lloyd é uma atração turística da cidade, servindo de ponto de observação para os golfinhos que habitam o Rio Pardo, o Rio que banha o Centro Histórico de Canavieiras.
Também é famoso o nascer e o por do sol visto a partir da Ponte do Lloyd que, segundo dizem, é um dos mais bonitos.
Também a ponte serve como plataforma para que garotos pulem para o Rio Pardo para depois retornarem e pularem outra vez.
Próximo à Ponte do Lloyd ficam os barcos e lanchas que levam os turistas para passearem no Rio Pardo e conhecerem as inúmeras ilhas que formam o município.
A ponte é de fácil acesso. Fica bem no Centro Histórico, perto dos principais pontos turísticos da cidade.
