Vitória

Vitória, the small and cozy capital of Espírito Santo, is a city on the southeast coast of Brazil, famous for its beaches and culture, and for its proximity from many other tourist destinations in the state. Most of the city's neighborhoods are surrounded by parks and forests and many cultural events add an extra bliss to the city throughout the year. One might also consider staying in a hotel in Vitória while visiting nearby cities and regions of interest during the day like Vila Velha, Guarapari, Domingos Martins, or Serra, all of them with many attractions less than 2 hours away by car or bus. Vitória is also a perfect stop for travelers planning to go from the state of Rio de Janeiro or east of Minas Gerais by bus or car to beach destinations in the south of Bahia, like Prado, Caravelas and Abrolhos, or even Porto Seguro.

Understand
Vitória, with around 360,000 people (2015), is considered by the UN to be the fourth best place to live in Brazil.

History
Founded in 1551, is the third oldest capital of Brazil, after Salvador and Recife. For a long time it was only a ‘city-port’, suffering various French, British and Dutch attacks, after sugar and ‘pau-brasil’.

Its name is attributed to a victory over the native Indians, when, seeking refuge, the Portuguese fled to the island, and then achieved victory, renaming the village, at the time known only as “Vila Nova”, to “Vila Nova da Vitória”. It has many nicknames, like Ilha do Mel (Honey Island), Cidade Sol (Sun City) and others.

Geography
It is located in the southeastern region of Brazil, the most developed in the country. It is close to the big urban centers, being on average, one hour away by plane from São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte.

Circled by the Bay of Vitória, the main island has mangroves, beaches, granite formations and many smaller islands.

The municipality of Vitória is made of an archipelago with 34 islands and a continental area. Its total area is 104 km², including the main island, the continental area, the coastal islands and the oceanic islands of Trindade and Martin Vaz. It used to have more than 50 islands, but now many of them have been incorporated, by landfills, to the main island.

The highest point is the Maciço da Fonte Grande, a granite formation 309 meters tall, and then there is the Pedra dos (Dois) Olhos, 296 meters tall.

The climate is tropical humid, with a maximum average temperature of 30.4ºC and a minimum of 24ºC, with most of the rainfall in the months between October and January.

By plane
It's about 10 minutes by taxi to most hotels and served by many bus lines.

The bus line 212 direction Aeroporto / B.Mar x Mario Cyprestes takes you from the airport via the Camburi beach, the port and the city center to the main bus station in 50-60 minutes.

By bus
Vitória's long-distance bus station is downtown, also with many bus lines serving it. There are many buses arriving and leaving during the day from cities like Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Salvador, Belo Horizonte, Brasília and others. It's around 20 minutes away from most of the hotels by taxi and 30 to 35 minutes by bus.

The bus 212 Aeroporto / B.Mar x Mario Cyprestes takes you from the bus station via the city center, the port and the Camburi beach to the airport in 50-60 minutes.

The bus trip from Rio de Janeiro takes about 8 hours, and from São Paulo some 14 hours, but most of the bus times are at night, making the trip not as tiring and time-wasting.

By train
The train station is located in the city of Cariacica (Greater Vitória) and connects the city to Belo Horizonte, in the state of Minas Gerais.

By car
The two main roads are the BR-101, which runs south-north just inland of the coast, linking Vitória to Rio de Janeiro, to the south, and Salvador, to the north, and BR-262, that runs east-west, leaving Vitória and going to Belo Horizonte. Another road, local highway 60, runs along the coast southward to Guarapari.

Get around
Vitoria has an extensive bus network. You cannot pay cash in the bus, instead you need a local "Cartão GV - Bilhete Único Metropolitano". If you've a CPF you might be able to get one in a pharmacy. Otherwise, without a CPF, you can get one at the Terminal Jardim América, opposite the train station.

See
Parts of the old town look a bit grubby and like they're dissolving away in the salt air, but 5 centuries is a long time.



Learn
At UFES (Federal University of Espírito Santo), one can find Portuguese courses for foreigners at its Language Center. There are beginning and intermediate courses, and each level takes 1 semester.

Eat
Just south of Camburi is the Praia do Canto neighborhood, where you will find a couple of streets lined with restaurants of all types.

Drink



 * On most nights, there are live music events on the beach at Curva da Jurema. Music varies and there are plenty of drink kiosks to keep people happy.
 * Wunderbar Kaffee. In the corner of Rio Branco and Chapot Presvot streets there is this delicious bar with great beers (Brazilian and foreign), excellent music (jazz, "chorinho", "bossa nova", Brazilian world music) and good food (German and Brazilian). Rio Branco Street, 1305 - Lj 4 - Praia do Canto,.
 * Wunderbar Kaffee. In the corner of Rio Branco and Chapot Presvot streets there is this delicious bar with great beers (Brazilian and foreign), excellent music (jazz, "chorinho", "bossa nova", Brazilian world music) and good food (German and Brazilian). Rio Branco Street, 1305 - Lj 4 - Praia do Canto,.

Connect
The telephone area code for Vitória is 27 (as well as in central and northern parts of Espírito Santo).

Stay safe
Even if it is not very reported, most of Brazil's high and mid-populated cities have the same kind of criminality problems, and with Vitória it's not different. Remember to take the same care.

Avoid:
 * To enter in the poor streets over hills. If you need, try to get the company of a local friend to visit any poor neighbourhood.
 * Walk along empty streets at night. Prefer taxis back to your hotel.

Double alert:
 * Around the Curva da Jurema and outside of the Shopping Vitória at night. The presence of muggers over bicycles there is common.
 * In the Vitória's downtown, day or night. The Vila Rubim people's tradeshop is always frequented for muggers. Avoid walking alone if you don't know the place very well.

Stay healthy
As elsewhere in Brazil, some beaches in Vitória are not suitable for bathing, and conditions can change from day to day. On the day of your visit, check the city's map of the latest weekly beach water quality report (in Portuguese, relatório de qualidade da águas das praias).

Go next

 * Vila Velha &mdash; Famous for Convento da Penha (a 16th-century hilltop Franciscan convent), and the beaches of Praia da Costa, Itapuã, and Coqueiral de Itaparica.
 * Guarapari - A popular beach resort town. Famous for its lively ambiance, with many clubs and beach parties, especially during the summer months.
 * Domingos Martins - To get a taste of a town colonized by German immigrants, and the famous Pedra Azul (Blue Rock).
 * Santa Teresa - To get a taste of a town colonized by Italian immigrants.
 * Itaúnas - Famous for its dunes and forró, a Northeastern Brazilian dance.
 * Rio de Janeiro - World-known city famous for its breathtaking landscape and annual carnival.