EZTrip.com International Destination Guide and Hotel Listings

As a city, VITÓRIA is vaguely reminiscent of Rio with its combination of sea, steep hills, granite outcrops and irregularly shaped mountains on the horizon. Founded in 1551, it's one of the oldest cities in Brazil, but few traces of its past remain and nowadays most of the centre is urban sprawl. Vitória is not a tourist town, and few people visit it unless they have a very definite reason. The heart of Vitória is an island connected to the mainland by a series of bridges, but the city has long since broken its natural bounds, spreading onto the mainland north and south: the major beach areas are on these mainland zones, Camburi to the north and Vila Velha with its beach Praia da Costa to the south. Vitória is renowned as the world capital of marlin fishing. It also has the unfortunate distinction of having the highest murder rate in Brazil and, although violence is unlikely to affect the casual visitor, appropriate care should be taken.