ABOUT SAO LUIS  - Compliments of Visit Brasil.com  - Brasil's official tourism website

São Luís is the capital of the State of Maranhão in the northeast of Brazil. Situated on an island, its colonization has a history of disputes between the French, Dutch, Portuguese and Indigenous people, leaving a rich and intense cultural collection as a legacy.

The historic center of the city is classified as a World Heritage Site by Unesco. Among churches, buildings, tiled mansions, fountains, monuments, squares and stairs, you can visit, for example, the Igreja Matriz da Sé (Sé Cathedral Church), one of the treasures of sacred art in Brazil, and the Fonte das Pedras (Fountain of Stones), a tourist attraction of great historical value for the city.

In addition, São Luís' cultural manifestations are present in famous festivals such as Bumba Meu Boi and the Tambor da Crioula that fill the streets in June. Besides these, the culture appears in the city's handicraft, whose beautiful lace, ceramics, sculptures, decorative items and pieces of clothing take form from the elements of the region itself. The Centro de Comercialização de Produtos Artesanais do Maranhão (Maranhão Commercial Center of Handicraft Products - Ceprama) is certainly worth the visit to purchase and view beautiful samples of this art.

The Maranhão capital’s local cuisine is another reflection of the city's mixed colonization. Cuxá rice, made with dried shrimp, cassava flour and sour spices, is one of the flavors you must try. Moquecas, containing fish and clams completes the experience, always accompanied by cashew fruit, Sapodilla plum, bacuri, ambarella and mangaba juices that are must try flavours.

Aside the local, cultural places, you can visit the Parque Ecológico da Lagoa da Jansen (Jansen Lagoon Ecological Park) and enjoy the beautiful view of the beaches and their breaking surfs, such as São Marcos beach, often frequented by young people and surfers.

São Luís is the gateway to the Parque Nacional dos Lençóis Maranhenses (Lençóis Maranhenses National Park ), famous for blue lagoons in the desert dunes. But the city itself also has must-see attractions. The more you get to know it, the more you will congratulate yourself on choosing this location!