Recife

Shop

Get even more with a Lonely Planet guide.

South America

$29.99

Shop Book

LONELY PLANET’S RECOMMENDED eSIM

Stay connected in Recife

with

Saily is an affordable eSIM service that helps you stay connected and secure, anywhere in the world.

Get your eSIM

Overview

Recife (‘heh-see-fee’), capital of Pernambuco, is one of the Northeast’s most exciting cities. It has a vibrant cultural, entertainment and restaurant scene, an intriguing historic center (Recife Antigo), an impressive coastal setting and a fabulous Carnaval. It's a sprawling, urban place of glassy high-rises, crowded commercial areas, thundering traffic and extensive suburbs; if you like your cities gutsy, gritty and proud, Recife is for you. It takes its name from the offshore recifes (reefs) that calm the waters of its ports and shoreline.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

Oficina Cerâmica Francisco Brennand

Recife

Francisco Brennand, born in 1927 into an Irish immigrant family and now considered Brazil’s greatest ceramicist, revitalized his family’s abandoned tile…

Paço do Frevo

Recife

This strikingly red museum is a small and modern house of worship for frevo, the quintessential dance of the Recife Carnaval that is easily identified by…

Instituto Ricardo Brennand

Recife

This scenic museum in Várzea, 11km west of central Recife, contains a huge collection of European and Brazilian art, swords, armor and historical…

Museu Cais do Sertão

Recife

Inaugurated in 2014, this bold museum highlights the culture of the sertão (the interior of Pernambuco state), especially as it relates to the godfather…

Marco Zero

Recife

The Marco Zero, a small 'Km 0' marker in the middle of the broad waterside Praça Rio Branco, marks the place where the Portuguese founded Recife in 1537…

Pátio de São Pedro

Recife

This traffic-free square, lined with bars, restaurants and colorful 19th-century houses, is one of Santo Antônio's more peaceful spots and a good place to…

Embaixada dos Bonecos Gigantes

Recife

Displays some of the giant fibreglass puppets that feature in the Olinda Carnaval. There's a host of national and international sports and musical stars…

Sinagoga Kahal Zur Israel

Recife

The oldest synagogue in the Americas, Sinagoga Kahal Zur Israel is now a Jewish cultural center and has interesting murals (in Portuguese and English)…

View more attractions