3 Best Sights in The Northeast, Brazil

Originally a prison, this building was structurally changed in 1850 along simple, classical lines. It's now the home of the state tourism center, with handicraft stores as well as the Museu de Minerais (Mineral Museum) and the Museu de Arte e Cultura Populares (Popular Art and Culture Museum), whose displays of local crafts and sculptures are interesting.

This fantastic open-air market, the largest in Northeast Brazil, takes place daily. Here, as the songwriter Luis Gonzaga put it, "it is possible to find a little of everything that exists in the world." Look for pottery, leather goods, ceramics, hammocks, and baskets. On Saturday, roving musicians provide a soundtrack to shopping with violins and folk music.

With four floors and more than 600 stores, this central market stocks a varied selection of northeastern handicrafts and local products, such as castanha de caju (caju nuts). It has elevators to take you from one floor to the next, but since it's built with an open style and has ramps that curve from one floor to the next, it's just as easy to walk up. The place itself is fairly scruffy and it's worth keeping a close eye on your belongings.