The neighborhood known as Reviver or Praia Grande is a long area bordered by Rua Afonso Pena to the east and Avenida Beira Mar to the west. A good place to begin exploring is at its northernmost edge, where you’ll find two magnificent squares. Praça Benedito Leite is an elegant, green park dominated by the Igreja da Sé (Praça Dom Pedro II, tel. 98/3222-7380, 8 a.m.–noon and 2:30–5:30 p.m. daily). São Luís’s main cathedral, it was built in 1690 by Jesuits in honor of Nossa Senhora da Vitória, who had supposedly helped the Portuguese oust the French from São Luís. Inside, the main baroque altar is awash in gold, and you can detect some local babaçu palms depicted in the painted ceiling frescoes.

Adjacent to Praça Benedito Leite is the much grander Praça Dom Pedro II, whose far end gazes out over the Baía de São Marcos. Two particularly majestic palaces line the square. The Palácio dos Leões (Av. Dom Pedro II, tel. 98/2108-9000, 2–5 p.m. Mon., Wed., and Fri.) was constructed in 1766 as the state governor’s residence, on the site of the original Fortaleza de São Luís erected by the French. Guided visits (in Portuguese) allow you to view the elegant salons filled with 18th- and 19th-century paintings and furniture.

Next door, the stately Palácio La Ravardière, built in 1689, is one of São Luís’s oldest edifices. Still exercising its original function as City Hall, its name (and the statue on its threshold) pays homage to São Luís’s dashing French founder, Daniel de La Touche, also known as Sieur de la Ravardière.

On the opposite side of the praça from the palaces, a flight of steep limestone steps leads down the picturesque, bar-lined street known as Beco Catarina Mina. Near the end of the stairs is the mansion of Catarina Rosa Ferreira de Jesus, an African slave of great beauty who, after purchasing her freedom, became a wealthy and successful merchant by supplying manioc flour to the Portuguese.

The staircase marks your descent into the heart of colonial Praia Grande, where block after block of azulejo-encrusted mansions alternate with peeling buildings in blistered and faded pinks, blues, jades, and saffrons. Running parallel to each other are three main streets that cut lengthwise through the bairro and are home to most of its treasures: Rua da Palma, Rua do Giz, and Rua da Estrela.

Beco Catarina Mina ends on Rua Portugal, a street whose buildings showcase a dazzling array of colorful tile work. Close by, the arches of the early 19th-century Casa das Tulhas (Rua da Estrela, Praia Grande, 6 a.m.–8 p.m. Mon.–Fri., 6 a.m.–6 p.m. Sat., 6 a.m.–1 p.m. Sun.) give way to the Mercado Praia Grande, a traditional and very charming market hidden away behind the Casa’s colonial facade. It’s worth wandering past the stands selling dried shrimp, medicinal herbs, exotic fruit, cotton hammocks, and Indian basketry. Make sure to stop for a drink in order to take in the surrounding activity while you quench your thirst.

Compared to other historical cities in Brazil, São Luís is bereft of splendid colonial churches. Apart from the cathedral, the most interesting one is the striking early-18th-century Igreja do Desterro (Largo do Desterro), whose onion-like Byzantine domes are a strange, but beautiful, surprise. The Convento das Mercês (Rua da Palma, 502) was founded in 1654 by celebrated Jesuit preacher Antônio Vieira, whose sermons are highly regarded as Brazil’s early literary writings. The hibiscus-colored exterior is quite arresting. However, you can skip the museum inside—a worshipful collection of memorabilia honoring a former Brazilian president (1985–1990) and all-powerful governor of Maranhão, José Sarney.

On the edge of Praia Grande, the Igreja do Carmo (Praça João Lisboa) dates back to 1627. It has suffered various modifications over time, including the 1866 addition of the white-and-yellow Portuguese azulejos covering its facade.

São Luís has an impressive number of small, but interesting, museums. Most are located in Praia Grande’s historic mansions and palaces. Many of the visits are guided (often only in Portuguese).

The Casa do Maranhão (Rua do Trapiche, Praia Grande, tel. 98/3218-9955, www.culturapopular.ma.gov.br/casadomaranhao.php, 9 a.m.–7 p.m. Tues.–Sun., free) is a must-see museum if you want some excellent insight into Maranhão’s spectacular Bumba-Meu-Boi festivities. Housed in a 19th-century customs building on the waterfront, the museum traces the history of this festa from pagan times and early Christianity up to the rich syncretic makeover it received in northeastern Brazil, where it was influenced by African and indigenous cultures. Even if your knowledge of Portuguese is nil, musical instruments, videos, and sumptuous costumes and accessories will whet your appetite to see the real thing.

The Centro de Cultura Popular (Rua do Giz 221, Praia Grande, tel. 98/3218-9924, www.culturapopular.ma.gov.br/centrodecultura.php, 9 a.m.–7 p.m. Tues.–Sun., free) goes one step beyond the Casa do Maranhão. Also known as the Casa da Festa, it boasts four floors of colorful displays that provide a wonderful overview of rich cultural traditions from around the state. Aside from a refresher in Bumba-Meu-Boi, captivating photographs and regalia provide you with an indelible impression of festivals such as Carnaval, the Festa do Divino, and rituals linked to Tambor de Mina, Maranhão’s important Afro-Brazilian religion (similar to Candomblé).

Lodged inside a splendid azulejo-covered house, the Casa de Nhôzinho (Rua Portugal 185, Praia Grande, tel. 98/3218-9951, www.culturapopular.ma.gov.br/casadenhozinho.php, 9 a.m.–7 p.m. Tues.–Sun., free) showcases Maranhão’s typical artesanato with a beguiling array of objects from daily life, including pottery, fishing implements, wonderful toys made from scrap materials, and artifacts from numerous indigenous groups. A special gallery is devoted to the works of Mestre Nhozinho (1904–1974), a Maranhense artisan renowned for the wood carvings he sculpted out of buriti palm. The toys he made and gave to poor children are quite ingenious.

The Museu de Artes Visuais (Rua Portugal 273, Praia Grande, tel. 98/3218-9938, 9 a.m.–7 p.m. Tues.–Fri., 9 a.m.–6 p.m. Sat.–Sun., free) serves up an artistic mishmash culled from private collections that mixes centuries (17th to 20th) and genres (baroque religious art, Brazilian modernism, works by contemporary Maranhense artists). The most interesting part of this museum is its overview of azulejo manufacturing, illustrated by some fine samples of glazed tiles from Portugal, Spain, Germany, and France.

The Cafua das Mercês (Rua Jacinto Maia 43, Desterro, 9 a.m.–6 p.m. Mon.–Fri., free) consists of a small house and courtyard (with a replica of a whipping post) that was formerly São Luís’s slave market. The haunting, claustrophobic atmosphere and handful of chains and torture instruments leave more of an impact than the sprinkling of West African artifacts that aspire to constitute a Museu do Negro.