Brazil · Pará · Belém
Cidade Velha, Belém — Area Guide & Where to Stay
Cidade Velha is the oldest neighbourhood of Belém, grown from the settlement of Feliz Lusitânia and the fort raised at the Piry creek in 1616.
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Where to stay in Cidade Velha
The practical side of choosing where to sleep.
The Forte do Presépio end of Cidade Velha puts the Museu do Forte do Presépio, the Palácio Lauro Sodré and the Sé churches within the same few blocks, which is the argument for sleeping in the old quarter rather than elsewhere in Belém. Mangal das Garças anchors the other end. Museums cluster here.
The State Historical Museum of Pará, the Art Museum of Belém and the Museu de Arte Sacra do Pará all carry Cidade Velha addresses.
Few places to stay in Cidade Velha — most visitors book in Belém nearby.
Find hotels in Cidade Velha
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Cidade Velha
Forte do Presépio, the Palácio Lauro Sodré and the Church and Former College of Saint Alexander all stand within this one quarter.Find hotels in Cidade Velhatravellers pointed at the cathedral quarter's museum rowSé
Sé, one of the quarter's older names, covers the streets holding the State Historical Museum of Pará and the Museu de Arte Sacra do Pará.Find hotels in SéHotel links are affiliate links: booking through them may earn us a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never affects how places are ranked. How this works
Things to do in and around Belém
Ranked by global recognition; descriptions from Wikidata (CC0).
Museums & Galleries
3- Art Museum of Belém
- Museu do Círio de Nazaré
- Museu de Arte Sacra do Pará
Churches & Religious Sites
8- Church and Former College of Saint Alexander Heritage
- Church of Our Lady of Mercy Heritage
- Church Our Lady of Mount Carmel Heritage
- Church of Our Lady of the Rosary of the Black People Heritage
- Church of Saint John the Baptist Heritage
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- Church of Saint Anne Heritage
- Capela do Senhor dos Passos Heritage
- Convento dos Mercedários Heritage
Castles & Historic Sites
5- Palácio Lauro Sodré Heritage
- Antônio Lemos Palace Heritage
- Monument to Dr. José da Gama Malcher Heritage
- Monumento a Dom Frei Caetano Heritage
- Monumento ao General Gurjão Heritage
Nature & Outdoors
1- Mangal das Garças
Landmarks & Notable Places
1- Solar do Barão de Guajará Heritage
worth knowingacross 5 categories in and around Belém
About Cidade Velha
What are the main landmarks in Cidade Velha?
Sé holds the densest set. The Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the Church of Saint Anne and the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary of the Black People stand among the colonial churches of Cidade Velha, alongside the Convento dos Mercedários. Palaces follow the same streets.
The Palace of the Eleven Windows and the Antônio Lemos Palace join the Solar do Barão de Guajará on the register, while Mangal das Garças and the Amazon Navigation Memorial close the quarter's list.
What is the history of Cidade Velha?
Belém starts here. Captain-Mor Francisco Caldeira Castelo Branco raised the wooden Forte do Presépio at the mouth of the Piry creek on January 12, 1616, and the settlement of Feliz Lusitânia grew around it. The quarter answered to Mairi, Cidade and Sé before Cidade Velha, and the neighbourhood that formed in the 1620s is counted the first in the city.
The fort's purpose was the Conquista do Pará, then in the Captaincy of Maranhão, securing the region and the drogas do sertão.
Where is Cidade Velha?
Cidade Velha occupies the first ground Belém was built on, around the mouth of the Piry creek where Forte do Presépio went up, in the state of Pará.
Common questions
What is the best area to stay in Cidade Velha?
Cidade Velha: stays inside Belém's first blocks, beside Forte do Presépio. Sé: travellers pointed at the cathedral quarter's museum row. Belém: visitors who want the wider Pará capital, not its colonial core.
Good for
Another area in Belém
Updated October 2026