Vitória brings together coastline, protected nature, crafts and culture. The city was built on an archipelago of 33 islands and a mainland section. Its varied attractions include Praia de Camburi, natural areas with Atlantic Rainforest, and places where marine conservation is brought to life. This lets you explore Vitória according to your own interests, without reducing the city to a beach visit or a single attraction.
History, Crafts and Cuisine
Solar Monjardim is now a house museum. Its focus is the everyday life of a wealthy 19th-century family. The anamorphic sculpture “Vitória 360 Graus” offers a different cultural perspective: inaugurated in September 2017, it depicts the name Vitória and is part of the city’s architectural and landscape heritage. It is also a tourist attraction.
At the workshop of the Associação das Paneleiras in Goiabeiras, you can watch the artisans at work in 32 individual booths. Pottery is also part of the local cuisine: Moqueca Capixaba is traditionally prepared in Vitória in clay pots handcrafted by the potters of Goiabeiras. The dish and its vessel are thus linked by a specific local tradition.
Beach and Protected Nature
Praia de Camburi is Vitória’s only mainland beach and stretches for six kilometers. The Parque Estadual da Fonte Grande offers a different landscape focus, in Vitória’s central massif. It protects one of the largest legally protected remnants of Atlantic Rainforest in an urban area of Brazil.
The Parque Natural Municipal da Gruta da Onça is a 66.67-hectare fully protected nature reserve within the Área de Proteção Ambiental do Maciço Central. Its features include trails, small grottoes, springs and streams amid Atlantic Rainforest and free-roaming wildlife. While Fonte Grande represents the importance of a protected remnant of rainforest in an urban setting, Gruta da Onça offers a variety of distinctive natural features within a clearly defined protected area.
Marine Wildlife and Seasonal Activities
The Tamar Vitória visitor center offers an interpretive tour for children and adults. It covers the protection of sea turtles in Brazil, the species’ biology and their entire life cycle. The Espaço Baleia Jubarte focuses on other marine mammals: exhibits include bones, animal replicas, biological materials and information panels about whales, porpoises, dolphins and other marine mammals.
From June to November, the Espaço Baleia Jubarte supports tourist whale-watching trips and also offers talks to raise environmental awareness. The two centers therefore have different focuses: Tamar introduces visitors to the biology and life cycle of sea turtles, while the Espaço Baleia Jubarte combines exhibits about various marine mammals with a seasonal connection to whale watching.
Specific Times to Plan Your Visit
On Sundays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Curva da Jurema, the Praia Acessível project offers assisted sea bathing for people with disabilities or reduced mobility. Check the activity’s schedule before your visit.
For culture lovers, the Festival Nacional de Teatro Cidade de Vitória offers a recurring event: it has been held every October since 2005. The program features free performances of national and capixaba plays in several theaters, squares, parks and alternative venues across the city. If you’d like to plan your trip around the festival, check the specific event dates in advance.
Discover more destinations: Santa Teresa, Viana, Mal. Floriano, Guarapari, Aracruz, Vila Velha, Cachoeiro De Itapemirim, Rio Bananal.
Back to the main travel overview: Espírito Santo.
