Olinda
Olinda (protected as a national monument and a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site), 7km/4.3mi north of Recife, was the first capital of Pernambuco. It was founded in 1537 on a hill to the north of the Rio Beberibe, between the mata zone, with its sugar-cane plantations, and the
coast. The town was a center of colonization and sugar-cane growing, but was soon overshadowed by Recife, the more dynamic port town, since it had no access of its own to the sea. The rivalry between the two towns reached its peak in 1710, after the promotion of Recife to the status of a vila, in the "Guerra dos Mascates", when the sugar barons of Recife opposed the political rise of the middle-class merchants of Olinda. With its churches, its Carnival and its festivals, Olinda is now one of the most popular tourist centers in Brazil.
Bus Station
Praça do Varadouro and Praça do Carmo
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