A sea of beryl-blue azulejo tiles and uneven cobblestones dominates the UNESCO-attested heart of Sao Luis, Brazil’s 16^th-largest city and one of its best-preserved colonial towns.

Visitors here typically head straight for the Old Town centre, where dusky red and yellow paint peels from the stuccoed walls, crumbling bulwarks built by the French encompass Dutch-style coffee shops, and boi music bars compete with the hubbub of Afro-Caribbean clothes bazaars. Palaces, cathedrals and museums apart , there’s something truly enchanting and folksy about the place that rarely fails to grab the attention—whether it’s the eccentricities of the local Bumba Meu Bois or the gloriously-clad Tambor de Crioula dancers, who knows?

Sao Luis tour guides will also often direct travellers away from the much-photographed central hub of town—to the shabby-chic heart of Alcantara with its curious space program, or to the beaches of Sao Francisco, where locals gather to nosh on shrimp pies and sip guarana berry tipples on the sands.