Fortaleza walking tour & city guide

The seafront

Avenida Beira Mar has a promenade, a nightly crafts fair and the Mucuripe harbor. Praia do Futuro is the city's favorite beach, lined with huge beach restaurants. Iracema Beach has a historic pier.

Around Fortaleza

Beach Park is one of Latin America's largest water parks. Further along the coast, Cumbuco is known for kitesurfing and buggy rides over the dunes, and Jericoacoara is one of Brazil's most beautiful beach villages.

A day in Fortaleza

Walk along Beira Mar avenue, with its evening craft fair, and visit the Dragão do Mar cultural center. Praia do Futuro is the best city beach.

Day trips go to Cumbuco for kite surfing and dune buggy rides, and to Canoa Quebrada with its red cliffs.

Good to know

Fortaleza has sunshine most of the year. Jericoacoara, one of Brazil's most famous beaches, is a long day's drive away.

Try crab on the beach at Praia do Futuro on Thursday evenings, a local tradition.

The local flavor

Fortaleza is the capital of Ceará, a state known for its humor, its forró music and its handicrafts, especially lace made by hand and bottles filled with colored sand in delicate patterns. The Mercado Central is the best place to shop for them. In the evenings, families walk along the seafront while the jangadas, traditional sailing rafts, rest on the sand at Mucuripe, where fishermen still sell their catch.