This is the departure point for the various schooner trips around Santos Bay, taking in Barra Fortress; Palmas island; Góes, Cheira Limão, and Sangava beaches, and Urubuqueçaba Island. On the stretch through the Estuary and Bertioga Channel, highlights are the port and warehouses, the old Port Authority (Codesp) buildings, Barnabé Island, the old Santos Air Base, and Diana Island. Genesis, Turismo no Mar and Bravotur tour agencies offer trips lasting betweeen 1hour 30 minutes and 3 hours 45 minutes.

Top photo: Tadeu Nascimento

The 42,766m² park occupies a platform on the submarine emissary and advances 400m out to sea. It is the perfect spot to observe the sea and shoreline.

Top photo: Tadeu Nascimento

The seat of Santos City Hall, the Palácio José Bonifácio honors one of the most illustrious Santos residents, José Bonifácio, the Father of Brazilian Independence. With statues of Mercury and Minerva  at the entrance, the building, constructed during the coffee boom years, is one of the few public buildings in São Paulo State that still has its original structure and most of its décor preserved. 

The Palace is full of symbolism, which refers to the philosophical past and historical importance of José Bonifácio de Andrada e Silva. Inaugurated in January, 1939, after two years of building work, it is the fifth seat of Legislative Power – and the first to have its own building. Occupying a site of 2847.15m², the seven-story building weighs around 12,000 tons and was constructed with 2,050,000 bricks.

Top photo: Susan Hortas

The Maritime Museum boasts one of the main collections of submarine archeology and maritime history in Brazil. To the sound of old sea shanties, visitors witness a simulation of cannon fire, look at models of captains and pirates and enjoy seeing relics salvaged from 18th and 19th-century vessels, including pirate ships and the Titanic. 

The entrance to the museum, inaugurated in December 2005, is decorated with ship’s flags and a life-size model of a pirate. Inside you can find models of famous vessels, a collection of medals of varying nationalities and 25 oil paintings by Carlos Alfredo Hablitzel, which depict important Brazilian and foreign naval episodes. Among these is the first naval battle in Santos Bay, in 1580. 

Top photo: Francisco Arrais

With a large collection of marine biology from Latin America, it possesses the largest collection of taxidermied sharks in the country, including the embryo of a specimen with two heads and fossilized teeth of a megalodon, a prehistoric animal extinct for 30 million years.

It also exhibits a whale shark; a sunfish, the largest bony fish in the world; seabirds and shells weighing over 100 kilos. A large part of the collection comes from abroad.

The Maritime Museum boasts one of the main collections of underwater archaeology and maritime history in Brazil. To the sound of old sailors' songs, visitors witness simulated cannon fire, contemplate models of pirates and captains, and appreciate relics recovered from 18th and 19th-century vessels, including pirate ships and the Titanic.

The entrance to the museum, which opened in December 2005, is adorned with ship flags and a life-size pirate figure. Inside, there are scale models of famous vessels, a collection of medals from various nationalities, and 25 oil paintings on canvas by Carlos Alfredo Hablitzel, depicting important Brazilian and foreign naval episodes, including the first naval battle in the bay of Santos in 1580.

Top photo: Tadeu Nascimento

A place that brings together tradition, architecture, history, flavors and aromas. Installed in an eclectic-style building, with an area of 6,000 m² and more than 200 doors and windows, the Coffee Museum, inaugurated in 1998, is much more than a tourist attraction that showcases the number one Brazilian export at the end of the 19th century. It is an experience of various sensations, from the cultivation of the bean to the consolidation of coffee as one of the national symbols. Permanent and temporary exhibitions, works of art, period furniture, themed shop and a café serving the best coffee beans – including the most expensive and rarest in the country – are some of its many attractions.

Top photo: Marcelo Martins

Created to recover, witness and preserve the sports history of Santos – considered the sportiest municipality in Brazil since 1955 – the De Vaney Sports Memorial Center boasts a collection of more than 500 trophies won from 1939.

The museum also houses photographic and personal collections with more than a thousand images, library and sports newspaper collection with journalistic material organized according to subject and sport. There are also records of veteran athletes, CDs and DVDs, research material, statements, auditorium for talks and small events. The museum offers guided tours, publishes information and has a choir of veteran athletes, which meets weekly. 

Top photo: Susan Hortas

Installed in a mansion built in 1908, the Fishing Museum is one of the main tourist attractions in Santos and is part of historical-cultural heritage of the entire region. Eclectic in style, the building, constructed on the site of the former Fort August (18th century), houses an important collection on the aquatic environment. 

Among its attractions are: a 23m-long whale skeleton, giant squid, Beach Room, play wing, stuffed animals and a huge collection of sand from beaches in Brazil and from around the world.   

Top photo: Tadeu Nascimento

During a visit to the Santos Football club Trophy Hall and Memorial Museum, fans – and even those who are not so keen on football! – can learn about some of the many incredible feats of a team that stopped a war, scored more goals and is a renowned production line of international football cracks.

There are 380m² for visitors to have fun and learn about the legends of the most famous ‘vila’ in the world: Vila Belmiro, the neighborhood that is home to the Urbano Caldeira Stadium, and Santos FC. Installed on the ground floor of the stadium since November 17, 2003, the  Memorial Museum presents eternal moments of the great idols of all time, some with their own spaces, like Pelé and Neymar, as well 600 trophies, photographs, videos, prizes, banners and temporary exhibitions.

Top photo: Francisco Arrais

The Tourist Streetcar ride offers a true voyage back in time via 40 points of historical and cultural interest. With departures from Valongo station – built in 1867 for the first railroad in São Paulo – the electric streetcars from the 19th and 20th centuries travel through the Historic Center, accompanied by a tour guide. 

They are original vehicles, originating in Scotland, Portugal and Italy, making Santos the first Living Streetcar Museum in Latin America. Drivers and conductors wear replicas of the original uniform from the time when the streetcars were the city’s main means of transport.