SANTOS AND COFFEE
A 100-year-old love story.
Santos is intrinsically linked to Brazil’s coffee history and has a strategic place in the supply chain. As the largest port in Latin America and its proximity to the state capital São Paulo, 80% of all Brazilian exported coffee is shipped out of Santos.
Santos:
Our home has been chosen as the best Brazilian city to live by Delta & Finance/América Economia, Santos, has attractions for people of all ages throughout the year.
Na Orla:
Along the Shore: The Fish Market, a tradition since 1982, has a new home which was opened in 2020 and is a popular success. Should you get hungry while there, a stop at chef Dario Costa’s sea food restaurant Paru is worth your while. A short distance from the Fish Market heading west towards the beaches, you will find the Edgard Perdigão Pier, from where schooner trips set out to across the Santos Bay and show you a magnificent view of Santos skyline from the water. The sights are unforgettable: fishing boats, ocean liners, cargo ships, and natures abundance blend with the historical heritage sites to a backdrop made up of hundreds of buildings and its famous leaning skyscrapers. Continuing towards the bay along the promenade you reach the Fishermen's Deck, a favorite spot for fishing enthusiasts. Here you have a perfect vantage point to follow the comings and goings of the ships in the Santos Ship Channel. It is one of the city's postcard locations, which occasionally hosts sports competitions and live music performances. Across the street you will find the Fisheries Museum, which is also interesting because of its building: an old naval school located on the site of fort from the 18th century. Inside in a grand well-lit hall you will marvel at the 23-meter fin whale skeleton that catches the attention of those walking along the shore promenade through the museum’s open windows. Very close by is the Santos Aquarium, our box office champion, which enchants everyone with its marine diversity and respect for nature. This is also where the Santos beaches start. Continuing the walk along the beach you will come to a large white mansion. It is the Pinacoteca Benedicto Calixto, in which seventy works by one of the most important painters in our country are exhibited. At Lifeguard Station 4, Posto 4, along the beach you will find Cine Arte, a space set aside for indie movies not generally shown on the conventional circuit. In fact, Santos has the UNESCO Creative City Seal for the moving pictures segment. After you reach Canal 1, the first of a massive canal system designed to rid Santos yellow fever and cholera by draining the swamplands on which it is built in the early 1900’s we are close to the Orquidário, our Orchidarium. Splendid! A large park in the middle of the city, with thousands of plants and dozens of species of animals. The place is perfect to rest for a while and observe nature. Worth the visit. Rounding out the tour and before you get to our neighbor city São Vicente, with which it shares the island booth are located on, is in the Roberto Mário Santini Municipal Park that you will find one of the shores main attractions. The Park is built on the outfall pier platform that juts four hundred meters out into the ocean. It is a perfect space to enjoy the sunset and practice sports, with a playground, skate park, bike path, game tables, comics library, grandstands, contemplation tower, common areas, jogging and walking tracks, and a workout area.
Na área intermediária:
The Central Part of the Island: Leaving the Shore behind and heading north inland between Canal 1 and 2, you will find Santos Futebol Clube’s Stadium, Vila Belmiro. A visit to Its excellent museum, the Memorial das Conquistas, will show you all you need to know about Santos’ own football king Pelé’s team and how they that stopped a war, scored the most goals, and is recognized as a soccer star making machine. Not far from the Vila Belmiro Stadium close by is the King Pelé Mausoleum. Located in the Ecumenical Necropolis Memorial, the legends body rests in a hall that simulated a soccer field showcasing images of Pelé’s life and important moments of his career. Heading to the Northwest Zone along the Nova Cintra Heights is the Lagoa da Saudade, a lake that offers a resting place and meeting point with a playground, kiosks, interactive fountain, barbecue area, and pet space. The Chico Mendes Botanical Garden in the Northwest Zone is an ideal place for sports and contemplation, with three lakes and hundreds of plant species.
No Centro Histórico:
The Historic Downtown: Home to an incalculable wealth of architectural, cultural and religious details that date to the different periods of Brazil’s history and have connections with different parts of the world, Santos’ Historic Downtown, built on coffee’s wealth, is home to several attractions for tourists and Santos residents alike The experience begins at the Coffee Museum, in the heart of the Coffee District which celebrates Brazil's main export product through the 19th century. It is an experience of sensations, from the beginning of cultivation to the consolidation of coffee as one of the national symbols. With your Tram tickets in hand, it's time to enjoy the tour that is Santos’ tourist trademark, a trip through time and various historical and cultural landmarks. Original 1907 Scottish built City of Santos Improvements Company trams and others from different parts of the world, including a Japanese one, dating from the 19th and 20th centuries travel through downtown, on an audio-guided tour in Portuguese, English, Spanish and Libra. In front of tram station at the historic Valongo Train Station, you will find the Pelé Museum, home to the King of Football’s memoir collection. Here you can travel through the incredible trajectory of Edson Arantes do Nascimento, our Pelé, through documents, jerseys, football boots, balls, momentoes, and trophies, as well as many items from the personal collection of the “Greatest Athlete of the Twentieth Century”. How about a lunch break? Back in the Valongo Train Station, an 1867 scaled down replica of London’s Victoria Station built as the Central Station for São Paulo Railway’s coffee railroad from the producing interior to the exporting port, you will find Estação Bistrô. The restaurant is a vocational training center for young chefs offering a menu with the best of contemporary and international cuisine. Finishing the tour through historic downtown Santos, jump on the funicular up Monte Serrat’s 147-meter rise. Ride to the top and visit the once fashionable Monte Serrat Casino and then walk though Sanctuary of Our Lady of Monte Serrat, patron saint of Santos, built more than four hundred years ago. For the adventuresome a 402-step staircase with fourteen sacred niches reproducing scenes from the Via Sacra and a 360º view of the city will lead you back down the hill. Breathtaking!
Ecoturismo:
Ecotourism One of the municipalities that make up the São Paulo Green Belt Biosphere Reserve, Santos is rich in natural beauty, represented by the best-preserved parts what remains of the Atlantic Forest, its mangroves, beaches, and crystal-clear rivers. It is home to a large section of the Serra do Mar State Park, with emphasis on Fazenda Cabuçu with its hiking trail and spectacular 10-meter-high waterfall, Sítio Itabatatinga, with an orchard, plant nursery, lake, playground, zip-line, and a historic on old sugar mill ruin, its grand mansion and former slave quarters. All daytrips worth the while. Diana Island is a fishermen hamlet known for local Caiçara culture and cuisine located in the large network of rivers that make up the Santos estuary. Every year the Bom Jesus da Ilha Diana celebration is celebrated in its recently restored community church. Further up the Bertioga Channel we reach Caruara’s Portinho with its pier and boat dock, Here, gastronomy and handicrafts as the main attractions., The Laje de Santos Marine State Park, forty kilometers offshore is considered one of the best diving and underwater photography spots in the country, due its clear waters, which can reach up to a 35-meter visibility.
Religião:
Religion The city’s religious tourist segment has undeniable value it has a history that dates to its founding days in 1546. Surrounded by legends, stories of bravery and resistance, and above all a lot of faith, downtown is a living portrait of the devotion of the people of Santos, which since its beginning has lived in harmony with the diversity of peoples, customs, and beliefs. Of special stop is The Benedictine Architectural Complex, made up of the Church of Nossa Senhora do Desterro and the former São Bento Monastery, which houses the Museum of Sacred Art. The collection brings together more than six hundred sacred and religious pieces ranging from the erudite to popular art expressions from the 16th to the 20th century. The oldest sacred image of know authorship in Brazil, that of Nossa Senhora da Conceição dated to 1560 by João Gonçalo Fernandes, is part of this impressive collection:
Economia criativa:
Creative economy: The Feito em Santos and FeirArte fairs bring together artists and artisans who work with a variety of materials using techniques such as sewing, painting, marquetry, among others. Housed in the Casa do Trem Bélico, an 18th century royal armory building, you will find the Casa do Artesão. Here exhibitions and sales gives one a sample of the talent and creativity of local artists working with wood, ceramics, fabrics, and fibers. Concais: Santos is considered the national cruise ship capital, The city takes on special colors and sounds during the cruise ship season, which attract thousands of tourists from all corners of the country and the world setting out on national and international trips. The Giusfredo Santini Maritime Passenger Terminal, Concais, is the largest and most modern of its kind in Latin America, capable of comfortably and safely moving forty-two thousand people per day. Yeah, and remember to proudly use #ObomdeSantos and #TurismoSantos when you post your images. We want to follow you on your adventures!
Concais:
Creative economy: The Feito em Santos and FeirArte fairs bring together artists and artisans who work with a variety of materials using techniques such as sewing, painting, marquetry, among others. Housed in the Casa do Trem Bélico, an 18th century royal armory building, you will find the Casa do Artesão. Here exhibitions and sales gives one a sample of the talent and creativity of local artists working with wood, ceramics, fabrics, and fibers. Concais: Santos is considered the national cruise ship capital, The city takes on special colors and sounds during the cruise ship season, which attract thousands of tourists from all corners of the country and the world setting out on national and international trips. The Giusfredo Santini Maritime Passenger Terminal, Concais, is the largest and most modern of its kind in Latin America, capable of comfortably and safely moving forty-two thousand people per day. Yeah, and remember to proudly use #ObomdeSantos and #TurismoSantos when you post your images. We want to follow you on your adventures!