Beautiful Olinda, placed on hill overlooking Recife and the Atlantic, is one of the largest and best preserved colonial cities in Brazil, and declared a Unesco World Heritage. From scalloped wooden eaves and windows fronted by wrought-iron balconies to heavy doors fitted with ornamental hinges, every street offers something to delight the eye. The top of the city's ladeiras offer a breaktaking view: in the foreground are churches and houses interspersed with coconus trees, and on the horizon the neighboring city of Recife and the dark blue ocean.