​With a delicious regional-style lunch, this tour combines the half-day Recife and Olinda walking tours in an order corresponding to hotel location. Focused on central Recife, whose islands, rivers and bridges have inspired the name Brazilian Venice, the tour starts at Praça da República and its fine buildings: the Law Courts, Governor’s Palace and Santa Isabel Theatre. After visiting the Capela Dourada, a gilt-clad church with paintings that depict virtues, saints and martyrs, the tour reaches Carmo square, church and convent; and Pátio de São Pedro, a traffic-free plaza with bars, restaurants, colourful 19th century houses and the 18th century Church of Saint Peter. São José Market is followed by Forte das Cinco Pontas, built on the site of the 1630 Dutch fortress, where the City Museum shows Recife’s history and culture, before returning to the city’s origins in Recife Antigo. Part of this port area now undergoing restoration was founded by the Dutch, its four-storey townhouses resembling Amsterdam. In Rua do Bom Jesus, the site of the first synagogue in the Americas is now the Jewish Museum, whilst the broad quayside square of Marco Zero marks the starting point of both Recife and Pernambuco State. Port warehouses have become a restaurant complex, craft centre and two museums: Cais do Sertão, an insight into the rich culture of the state’s backlands; and Paço do Frevo, for the history and features of Recife’s unique carnival dance.

After lunch, the tour proceeds to Olinda, a breathtaking colonial town and UNESCO World Heritage Site that overlooks Recife and the Atlantic Ocean. The walking tour includes unique sights such as the lavishly decorated 1582 São Bento Monastery, the home of Brazil’s first law school, the Igreja da Sé, the Convent of Saint Francis and the former slave market. Further attractions include brightly painted colonial houses, artists’ studios and cosy bars.