Vitoria

Eminently liveable and beloved by most every one of its sun-kissed capixabas (residents of Vitoria), the state capital of Espírito Santo leans its way out into the Atlantic Ocean where the Rio Santa Maria meets the sea. The centre of the town is spread out over a series of rugged granite islands, connected by a plethora of bridges that run like capillaries over the deep blue waters. Beaches like the Canto and Camburi carve their way against the shorelines too; a line of soft sands marking the boundary between districts of dazzling white high-rises and the Bay of Vitoria. And in the very midst of it all, the peaks of Fonte Grande Park dominate, complete with lookout points, walking trails and picnic spots aplenty. History also abounds here between the green spaces and the sea, and there are plenty of Vitoria tour guides at hand to help unravel the nigh on 500 years of Portuguese colonial past that exists, belied at spots like the age-stained O Convento De Nossa Senhora Do Monte Do Carmo, theTheatro Carlos Gomes and the Palacio Anchieta to name just a few.