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Santos packs a 5.3 km beachfront garden, the museum of Brazil’s greatest footballer, a hilltop funicular and one of Latin America’s largest ports into a compact coastal city. Most attractions sit along the beach or in the compact historic centre, so you can cover a lot in a long weekend. Here are the best things to do in Santos, with opening hours and ticket prices, drawn from the full Santos travel guide. For help choosing when to go, see the best time to visit Santos guide.
Things to Do in Santos: The Beach and Oceanfront
Santos Beach Garden (Jardim da Orla)
The 5,335-metre beachfront garden along Avenida Presidente Wilson holds a Guinness World Record as the world’s largest beachfront garden, with 1,686 trees and 218 flower species. It fronts seven beaches in a row, from Jose Menino in the west to Ponta da Praia in the east, joined by a continuous footpath and cycle lane. Walk it at sunrise, rent a bike from a stand along the promenade, or stop at one of the numbered beach kiosks for coconut water. Access is free and open 24 hours.
Gonzaga Beach
Gonzaga is the busiest and best-serviced beach, backed by the Miramar and Praiamar shopping malls, seafood restaurants and most of the city’s hotels. The sand is wide and the water usually calm, though it can be murky after rain. Beach chairs and umbrellas rent from kiosks for about R$20 to R$30 a day. It is the most convenient choice if you want a swim within walking distance of your hotel, and it links into the Santos hotel areas around it.
Santos Municipal Aquarium
The Aquario Municipal sits at Ponta da Praia, at the eastern end of the beach, and holds about 200 species across 32 tanks, including penguins, sharks, stingrays and Amazon river fish. It is the oldest public aquarium in Brazil, opened in 1945, and a favourite for families with kids. It opens Tuesday to Sunday from 9:00 to 18:00, and entry costs around R$8 to R$10. Arrive before 11:00 to beat the weekend school groups, and pair it with a ferry ride to Guaruja from the pier next door. For ferry times and how to reach the pier, see the Santos travel tips and FAQ guide.
Things to Do in Santos: Museums and History
Coffee Museum (Museu do Cafe)
The Coffee Museum occupies the old Bolsa Oficial de Cafe building on Rua XV de Novembro, opened in 1922 when Santos was the world’s biggest coffee port. Inside you walk through the trading hall where coffee prices were once set, see historic scales and sacks, and finish at the ground-floor cafe, which serves brews from several Brazilian growing regions. It is open Tuesday to Saturday from 9:00 to 17:00 and Sunday from 10:00 to 17:00, with entry around R$10 and half price for students and seniors. The building’s architecture and the museum’s central role in Santos history make it the top indoor stop on a rainy afternoon, which the Santos weather by month guide shows arrives most often from December to March.
Pelé Museum (Memorial das Conquistas)
The Memorial das Conquistas at Vila Belmiro, the Santos FC stadium, celebrates Pelé, who scored 1,091 goals for the club between 1956 and 1974. The museum holds more than 2,000 items, from match-worn shirts to the ball from his 1,000th goal in 1969. It opens daily and charges around R$15, with a combined ticket that includes a stadium tour of Vila Belmiro. Football fans should combine it with a Santos FC match day when the team plays at home between April and November.
Monte Serrat and the Funicular
Monte Serrat is a 157-metre hill in the centre of Santos topped by the Shrine of Nossa Senhora do Monte Serrat, the city’s patroness, and a casino built in 1927 that now stands closed. The funicular railway, also opened in 1927, climbs the slope in a few minutes and gives the best panoramic view over the city, the port and the beach. The round trip costs about R$25 to R$30 and runs on most days. Thousands of pilgrims climb the adjacent steps on September 8 for the saint’s feast day, the city’s main religious event.
Things to Do in Santos: Sport and Local Life
Estadio Urbano Caldeira (Vila Belmiro)
Vila Belmiro is Santos FC’s compact home ground, seating about 16,000, and the stadium where Pelé spent his entire Brazilian club career. Match days run roughly April to November during the Campeonato Brasileiro, with tickets often available at the box office for R$50 to R$150 depending on the fixture. The stadium tour, which includes the Memorial das Conquistas, runs most days. The surrounding Vila Belmiro neighbourhood is quiet and residential, a short taxi ride from the beach.
Orquidario Municipal
The Orquidario in the Jose Menino district is part botanical garden and part small zoo, with thousands of orchids plus enclosures for monkeys, toucans and reptiles. It opened in 1945 and remains a calm, shaded break from the beach. It opens Tuesday to Sunday from 9:00 to 17:00 and charges a few reais, with children under 12 often free. Combine it with Jose Menino Beach, which sits directly across the road.
Historic Centre Tram and Old Town
The restored Bonde tram runs a short loop through the historic centre, past the 1650 Sao Bento Monastery and the Cathedral. The old town around Rua XV de Novembro and Rua do Comercio holds tiled facades like the Casa da Frontaria Azulejada from 1865 and the Pinacoteca Benedito Calixto art gallery. It is free to wander, and the tram fare is a few reais. For more day-by-day planning, see the Santos events and festivals calendar and the Santos neighborhoods guide.
