Casa do Carnaval da Bahia — Attraction in Região Geográfica Imediata de Salvador

Salvador's Casa do Carnaval (Carnival House), a museum dedicated to the biggest carnival (and hence biggest party) on the planet, is as wonderful as the storied history of this celebration!

In a beautifully conceived space a number of screens tell the story of various aspects of Carnaval, with films and cleverly animated photographs. These stories are narrated through headphones controlled by a cell phone-sized device -- in either Portuguese or English -- allowing visitors to wander at will and delve as deeply as they wish into the presentations (the Portuguese-language narrations are done by well-known Bahian singers who've performed in numerous carnivals).

Following this is the Interactive Cinema (there are two, actually), with huge super-high def screens and startlingly clear sound systems, where one, should one be so disposed, can follow the dance steps of Ilê Aiyê and numerous others. This endeavor is helped by real live dancers following the steps on the screen and there to help anybody else wishing to do likewise.

The multi-story entrance hall doubles as a bookstore devoted to Salvador's history and vast culture, and up top of everything is a bright carnivalesque café overlooking the Baía de Todos os Santos.

Hemingway memorably called Paris "A Moveable Feast". Carnaval in Salvador da Bahia then, with its trio elétricos, is a hugely moveable festa!!!

BTW: "Sparrow" in Portuguese is "Pardal", and that's what I'm called here in Brazil. I'm proud to work in various capacities with some of the most wonderful artists living and producing here in...

Loved it (despite one setback with a staff member)! The museum has a pretty interactive setup, with a guided mobile tour and videos. The first room goes through the history of Carnaval in Bahía, while the second room explains the fashions/style/music/dance as well as how Carnaval in Bahía has influenced festivities other parts of Brazil and the world. Would’ve given this five stars, but one of the staff was incredibly rude and made me feel very uncomfortable. He was set up in the second room to collect headsets for those finished with the tour. As I went around the room, he kept staring at me pretty intensely then when I had to return my headset to him, he said something to me in Portuguese (which I don’t speak), so I asked in Spanish (due to the similarities between Portuguese and Spanish, my Spanish had been helping me get around Brazil fine w/o Portuguese; I’ve done the same when traveling the south of Italy) if he could explain in Spanish or English and he scoffed at me and said “Portuguese is not Spanish” as if I didn’t know that. So between him making me very uncomfortable and insulting my intelligence, I wasn’t even up for the dance portion...

I thoroughly enjoyed this museum and learned a lot while I was there.

I had a little trouble getting inside because COVID vaccinations are required and I don't know enough Portuguese to know the words for vaccination card, but a member of the staff came outside to help me communicate with the guard.

Once inside you are given an audio guide (in whatever language you prefer), which will explain the videos you're seeing throughout the museum. I didn't know much about the museum before I arrived but I ended up spending about 2-2.5 hours there because I wanted to watch each video in its entirety. After you've watched the videos on the first level you can head upstairs to the movie rooms for an interactive experience.

Before you leave make sure you go to the top floor, which has a cafe and great views!

if the staff come across this review I would suggest adding portable folding stools in the rooms on the main floor because the videos are quite long and if you watch each one, you'll be tired of standing up by the time you...