What to do in Santos city?

Photo from: Turismo Santos

This post is for those people who want to visit the city of Santos for the first time or again, but know little or nothing about tourism in the region. If you, who are reading this post, are one of them, or just want to know more about this beautiful city, welcome! Here, in this post, you will find information about museums, gastronomy, leisure and even historical curiosities of the city. Let’s go?

1- Beaches

Photo from: Viagem e Turismo

When talking about Santos, the first image that comes to mind is a beach. This is no wonder, after all, Santos is one of the cities on the South Coast of the state of São Paulo. Quite busy in hot and festive seasons, especially on New Year, the beaches of Santos are known for their natural beauty and harmony. The union of all elements, natural and human, in the landscape of Santos beaches is simply perfect!

In addition to being beautiful, the beaches of Santos are very accessible. This is due to the fact that they are adjacent to the city, which provides easy access for bathers to residential buildings, and also have access points for people with reduced mobility, wheelchair users, or those in need of special care.

Highlight to the edge garden, the only existing separation between the beach sidewalk and Avenida Presidente Wilson: present in almost the entire edge of the beach, this garden has a vast wealth of colors and smells, as well as plants of various types and sizes, and statues. For this reason, it's a great place to take that nice photo to put on Instagram or keep as a souvenir, as well as being a perfect observation spot for those who like to sit on a bench and enjoy the view.

The beaches of Santos are also known for their trade. In them, there are those who sell everything, from the most common products (hats, bath outlets, toys, popsicles, etc.) to typical foods and objects, both in the city, in the state and in other places in Brazil. At the fair that, in times without pandemics, takes place on Saturdays, on the edge of Praia do Gonzaga, for example, you can buy beautiful necklaces, earrings and decorations for your home, all made with shells, as well as other types of handicrafts.

2- Gastronomy

Photo from: Unknown

Did you left the beach and got hungry, but you're not brave enough to cook, nor do you have the patience to wait for delivery? So, pay attention to what we're going to tell you now: in Santos, spread throughout the city, there are numerous restaurant options for all tastes. For those people interested in eating fish or seafood, there are establishments specializing in the subject. For vegetarians, there are some places that serve vegetarian and vegan dishes, in addition to meat, but there are also specific places for this clientele. One of the best-known restaurants in the city is Bistrô, a school restaurant that works at the Valongo station, on the former Santos-Jundiaí Railroad of the São Paulo Railway Company.

In addition to the restaurants, there are also several snack bars and ice cream parlors, which offer various types of food and flavors, from the best known (hamburger, salad and the like) to the rarest, often created by the house itself.

3- Leisure

Santos is also a city rich in leisure options. In addition to the beaches, which already provide constant entertainment for everyone, there are also playgrounds, shopping malls, galleries, concert halls, markets and much more. As this is mainly an urban mobility site, we will represent the team of transport lovers: yes, we will put the tram system and buses on the city's leisure list!

We will give special attention to the Santos Convention Center, located next to the píer (Ponta da Praia’s region). Inaugurated on October 30, 2020, the Santos Convention Center is part of a city government project for the revitalization of the beaches region, and was also designed to replace the current Mendes Convention Center, located on Ana Costa Avenue, near the station from the VLT, within the area of ​​the former Fepasa’s Ana Costa train station/yard.

Photo from: Viagem e Turismo

For those who like to be closer to nature, an excellent suggestion is the City’s Orchid Park. With about 3,500 orchids of 120 species, the zoobotanical park of Santos, known as Orquidário de Santos, which reproduces the Atlantic Forest, is an excellent option for leisure more “unconnected” to the city, due to its richness of species, not just of plants, but also animals. There, for example, you might, who knows, come face to face with a beautiful Peacock by accident.

Photo from: Área Verde das Cidades

There is also the emissary from Santos. Located on José Menino Beach, Roberto Mário Santini Park, built on top of the Santos Submarine Outfall and inaugurated in 1978, unfortunately, today, it is closed for renovations. However, before its ban, it was very popular, both by tourists and locals. In addition to attractions such as a playground and a skate circuit, the Emissary also offered surfing and swimming courses. According to the newspaper A Tribuna, with the modernization, the park will gain new access, renovation of floors, new furniture, lighting, skate park, pump track and playground, in addition to the addition of security monitoring, interactive sources (like the one in the Ponta da Praia’s region), basketball court, pet space and food court.

Photo from: G1-Globo

4- Culture

Are you in the mood to visit some museums and, in them, a little bit of the city's history? So, keep reading!

Santos is also a rich place when it comes to museums and old buildings. In the region of beaches, for example, there are some interesting places to visit, such as the city's Pinacoteca and the Church of Santo Antônio do Embaré, built in Gothic style, thus making a reference to European feudalism.

Throughout the city, there are several museums, exhibitions and old buildings. However, none of these places beats the Historic Center, the oldest part of the city, which houses some of its main museums. Without a doubt, the most famous of them is the International Living Museum of the Tram. It is a tourist line inaugurated in the 2000s that runs throughout the Historic Center of Santos, and which houses trams not only from the city, but also from various parts of the state and the world! In this museum there is, in addition to the Santos trams, 1 tram that came from the Mooca district in the city of São Paulo, 2 original Portuguese trams (A tram that came from Porto’s city and one called “Bonde Pelé”), 2 Italian trams (one called “Bonde Café” ando ne called “Bonde Arte”) and 1 Japanese. The tram ride starts and ends at the old São Paulo Railway’s Valongo station, the same place that houses the Restaurant-School Bistro and the Municipal Tourism Department. To find out more about this specific museum, look for our post titled “Do you know the International Living Museum of the Tram?”.

The Porto City's Tram. Photo from: Estação Mobilidade

The Shrimp Tram. Photo from: Estação Mobilidade

One of the places where the tram passes, in addition to being its ticket office, is the Pelé Museum. This museum, dedicated to one of the biggest names in world football, was built inside the old Valongo’s Big House (Casarão do Valongo), and houses a large collection not only about the player, but also about the history of the times when Brazil was the leader and almost invincible in football. Like the Pacaembu Stadium, located in the city of São Paulo, this museum is an excellent option not only for those who are a fan of football or Pelé itself, but also for those who enjoy history and sports.

Photo from: Ama Brasil

Still following the tram route, another place that tourists must visit is the Coffee Stock (called “Bolsa do Café”). Built in an eclectic manner and strongly inspired by the Italian Renaissance, in a format that reminds us a lot of the Gringotts Bank from Harry Potter's wizarding world, this museum has a rich collection of information and objects, which tells the story and the importance of the coffee economy not only for the city, but also for Brazil. On the way out, how about trying a coffee of the same type that was exported in the 19th century? That's right, in addition to the museum, the Coffe Stock has its own cafeteria that is specialized in serving Arabica coffee, the same type that boosted the economy of Santos, the state of São Paulo and Brazil.

Photo from: ANBA (Agência de Notícias Brasil-Árabe)

For those in love with history and religious articles, the indication of three places: The first one is the Sanctuary of Santo Antônio do Valongo, next to the International Living Museum of the Tram’s station. In addition to the religious temple for holding masses, the church houses a beautiful exhibition of nativity scenes, made in all styles of art and with all the materials you can ever imagine. There are, for example, cribs made from completely recycled materials. Besides this, another interesting church is the Santos City’s Cathedral. Inaugurated in 1909, this church is identical to the Sé Cathedral, in São Paulo. This is no wonder, given that the two are “sisters” (they were built by the same architect). Finally, there is the Museum of Sacred Art of Santos, which houses numerous sacred objects, which were used in masses or that refer to the image of Jesus Christ, the apostles and Catholic saints, as well as moments in the life of Jesus.

Photo from: Diocese de Santos

These are the main information about Santos and what to do in the city. We hope you like the post and enjoy your stay in Santos. We also hope to have helped you to know what to do and where to go there!

No, Estação Mobilidade didn't change the focus of its posts and stopped publishing news about transport (laughs)! On the contrary, we are still alive on this topic. However, despite being a Mobility blog, we do not only cover this subject, but also all others that are related to transport and displacement, such as: tourism, travel, history and political-social issues (for the construction of a urban mobility increasingly harmonious, peaceful and accessible).