Salvador, Bahia

Salvador, formerly São Salvador da Bahia de Todos os Santos ("Holy Savior of the Bay of All Saints") and known colloquially as Bahia or Salvador da Bahia  is the largest city and the third-largest urban agglomeration on the northeast coast of Brazil; it is the capital of the Northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia. Founded by the Portuguese in 1549 and made the first colonial capital of Brazil, Salvador is one of the oldest colonial cities in the Americas. Salvador is the third-most populous Brazilian city, after São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The metropolitan area of the city, with 3.5 million people, however, is the eighth-most populous Brazilian urban agglomeration., Salvador is known as "Brazil's capital of happiness" due to its countless popular outdoor parties, including its street carnival. The city has the largest carnival in the world. The city of Salvador is notable in Brazil for its cuisine, music and architecture, and its metropolitan area is the second wealthiest in Brazil's Northeast. The African influence in many cultural aspects of the city makes it the centre of preto culture. African-associated cultural practices are celebrated. The Historic Centre of Salvador, frequently called the "Pelourinho", is renowned for its Portuguese colonial architecture, with historical monuments dating from the 17th to the 19th centuries. It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1985