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This poll is actually difficult for me, as I'm quite interested in all three cities.
In a nutshell,
As my partner says, Salvador is "uma cidade turistica."
Fortaleza is a tourist city as well, but it is more laid-back and low-key...and the tourists/tourist areas don't overwhelm the day-to-day life there as much.
Fortaleza is the most "boring" of the three. I put it in quotes because it depends on your definition of boring.
Salvador has the Carnaval that Brazilians WANT to go to. Rio and São Paolo's Carnaval are too touristic, and are really just overblown parades. It is also, like Rio de Janeiro, São Paolo, or Rio Grande Do Sul, one of the places in Brazil that has its own feel. You KNOW when you're in Salvador. Fortaleza and Recife cannot necessarily say that. Yes, they have their own charms, but nothing compared to Salvador, especially Fortaleza. Salvador is sort of like Rio de Janeiro or even Miami in the US, a fun city, but not a "serious" one. Fortaleza is more serious, as is Recife.
I don't know much about Recife, except the city has a shark problem in its waters...yikes.
Fortaleza is much more family oriented than the other three, and has the largest water park in S America. It is also a popular tourist destination. The focus of Fortaleza is growth and economy. For Salvador, it's culture and social consciousness.
It really depends on what you're more interested in.
Fortaleza is the most "boring" of the three. I put it in quotes because it depends on your definition of boring.
Salvador has the Carnaval that Brazilians WANT to go to. Rio and São Paolo's Carnaval are too touristic, and are really just overblown parades. It is also, like Rio de Janeiro, São Paolo, or Rio Grande Do Sul, one of the places in Brazil that has its own feel. You KNOW when you're in Salvador. Fortaleza and Recife cannot necessarily say that. Yes, they have their own charms, but nothing compared to Salvador, especially Fortaleza. Salvador is sort of like Rio de Janeiro or even Miami in the US, a fun city, but not a "serious" one. Fortaleza is more serious, as is Recife.
I don't know much about Recife, except the city has a shark problem in its waters...yikes.
Fortaleza is much more family oriented than the other three, and has the largest water park in S America. It is also a popular tourist destination. The focus of Fortaleza is growth and economy. For Salvador, it's culture and social consciousness.
It really depends on what you're more interested in.
I can definitely confirm that regarding Carnival. I was in Rio de Janeiro during Carnival and opted to stay since it was so famous. Pretty much all the Brazilians of Rio went northward. They all kept talking about 'BAHIA'...which as basically Salvador. I also heard many talking about Recife's Olinda. 'Bahia' and 'Olinda' seemed to be on everyone's lips.
Being that I wanted to experience a Rio Carnival, I stayed behind. The Parade was the big spectacle, but it's just people watching floats go by all day. It was also expensive. I went for the street parties. They seemed to attract every Brazilian girl from throughout Brazil, looking to score easy money from drunk foreigners. I couldn't talk to any girl for more than 5 minutes without them quoting money to be taken home. I'm not saying Carnival wasn't fun, it was a blast. But, it seemed the prostitute Brazilans and foreigners from predominately Europe descended on Rio, and the northeast was probably filled with just fun-loving Brazilians having a good ol' time, and I felt like I was missing out on that!
In short, if I ever get to Brazil again for a Carnival, it'll be Bahia or Olinda! Not only that, but all the Cariocas (Rio people) told me that the northeast has carnivals for a few weeks!! Whereas Rio is pretty much exactly the official four days only.
Regarding Sao Paulo, I was under the impression that whatever Carnival they have there, it is so lame, that people don't even consider it a Carnival.
I can definitely confirm that regarding Carnival. I was in Rio de Janeiro during Carnival and opted to stay since it was so famous. Pretty much all the Brazilians of Rio went northward. They all kept talking about 'BAHIA'...which as basically Salvador. I also heard many talking about Recife's Olinda. 'Bahia' and 'Olinda' seemed to be on everyone's lips.
Being that I wanted to experience a Rio Carnival, I stayed behind. The Parade was the big spectacle, but it's just people watching floats go by all day. It was also expensive. I went for the street parties. They seemed to attract every Brazilian girl from throughout Brazil, looking to score easy money from drunk foreigners. I couldn't talk to any girl for more than 5 minutes without them quoting money to be taken home. I'm not saying Carnival wasn't fun, it was a blast. But, it seemed the prostitute Brazilans and foreigners from predominately Europe descended on Rio, and the northeast was probably filled with just fun-loving Brazilians having a good ol' time, and I felt like I was missing out on that!
In short, if I ever get to Brazil again for a Carnival, it'll be Bahia or Olinda! Not only that, but all the Cariocas (Rio people) told me that the northeast has carnivals for a few weeks!! Whereas Rio is pretty much exactly the official four days only.
Regarding Sao Paulo, I was under the impression that whatever Carnival they have there, it is so lame, that people don't even consider it a Carnival.
Thing about Rio is, its reputation for sex tourism has turned many natives away from newcomers to the city, lest they be seen as prostitutes. Funny though, a lot of them ARE only out for the dough, and will do what's necessary to get it..!
Can you expound on the please? I never hear that much about Fortaleza...
I will quote my post about Fortaleza from another thread, okay?
Here it is:
Quote:
Originally Posted by MalaMan
Hi again.
I will try to explain more about Fortaleza, since I have lived in this city for almost my entire life.
Fortaleza is a big city, with intense urban life, surrounded by very beautiful nature. The city has many problems typical of any city in the developing world, but also has many strengths.
It's a modern city, with a very dense core packed with thousands of colorful residential highrises (ranging from 10 to 30 story), middle class condos and luxury condos.
The city has pockets of poverty, of course, but I would say it's not "pornographic misery". Most of the poor in Fortaleza live in regular, paved streets, and only a minority live in favelas. And even in the few favelas of the city (almost all in plain terrain, only one, Serviluz, is located in a hill) most houses are solid, with walls made of red bricks and covered with red tiles, and are served by piped water and electricity. It means you will not find cardboard slums in Fortaleza.
One interesting thing to say is that the "rich-poor divide" in Fortaleza is not as rigid as in some other cities in Brazil, like São Paulo, for example. The typical upper middle class resident of Fortaleza will never treat poor people with the same disdain and arrogancy that upper middle class people in São Paulo would do, for example. Humility was always a characteristic of the people of the state of Ceara, and it reflects in the upper classes, that absorved that cultural feature. Of course there are individual exceptions, but the typical upper middle class Fortalezense can easily be found drinking cachaça (the Brazilian sugarcane rum) at a humble bar after a soccer game of Ceará Sporting Club with his fellow fans of the team, most from lower classes, in a friendly way.
People in Fortaleza are very warm and welcoming. Outsiders (both foreigners and Brazilians from other states) are very well received.
People in this city love to party, and the city has one of the best nightlifes in Brazil. Thousands of bars, nightclubs, and the typical "forrós" (large walled areas, without a ceiling, in the outskirts of the city, where young people from all social classes gather to see shows of bands that play the forró - a rythm very popular in Northeastern Brazil).
I would easily say that, for the typical resident of Fortaleza, life is a party. It's a people with very good sense of humour (it's not a coincidence that the most well known comedians in Brazil are all from the state of Ceará). However, it doesn't mean this people is not hardworking. In fact, people from Ceará are one of the most hardworking people in Brazil. But the work takes a break at the weekend, and people party like crazy.
But if you don't like partying so much, don't worry. I'm also not a very much party-going guy, and I find lots of calmer leisure options in Fortaleza, like going to the cinema, or just spending the weekend in one of the dozens of calm and semi-deserted beaches in the area around the city.
Of course the city has many problems. Traffic can be chaotic in some areas during the workweek, with big traffic jams. Potholes are common in many streets (and one of the preferred local sports is scolding the mayor because of the potholes). Crime is also a problem, although at a much, much, much, much lower extent than in Rio de Janeiro. People have to take preventive measures to avoid being victim of crime, but usually you only need the normal good sense needed in any big city.
Overall, it's a nice place to live, and I love to live here, and I haven't any plans of going anywhere else!
Hope it's helpful...
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