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Belém is the capital of the state of Pará, on the north coast of Brazil. It is one of the most important cities in the Amazon region, being located in a strategic position in the territory. It is located in the Amazon biome, has a humid tropical climate and a predominantly flat relief. The city currently has 1.49 million inhabitants, being, in addition to being populous, densely populated. It has a rich cultural tradition and several tourist attractions that make this activity extremely important for its economy, centered on the tertiary sector. Belém is a port city and the gateway to the Lower Amazon region of Brazil. Next to Guajará Bay, the riverside Cidade Velha neighborhood preserves Portuguese colonial architecture, from colorfully tiled churches and houses to a 17th-century fortification known as Forte do Castelo. Ver-o-Peso is a large open-air market next to the water, where fish, fruit and handicrafts from the Amazon are sold.

Estação das Docas is one of the most representative tourist attractions in Belém. Located on the edge of Guajará Bay and 500 meters long, it is made up of three warehouses made up of English iron warehouses that were restored to serve as a tourist complex. They were named Boulevard das Artes, where regional crafts and clothing are sold, Boulevard da Gastronomia, where there are restaurants serving typical Belém foods among other dishes, and Boulevard de Feiras e Exhibitions. Estação das Docas also has the Maria Sylvia Nunes Theater and the São Pedro Nolasaco Amphitheater.

As a cultural event, Belém is known throughout Brazil for the Círio de Nazaré, a grandiose religious procession dedicated to Our Lady of Nazaré, held every year for more than 200 years on the second Sunday of October and accompanied by more than 2 million people. The festival was considered an intangible cultural heritage by Iphan and a cultural heritage of humanity by UNESCO. Other processions are also held next to the Círio de Nazaré during the 15 days surrounding the festival, such as the Transfer, the Road Pilgrimage, the River Pilgrimage, the Children's Círio and the Recírio. The period also features a large program of events: masses, prayer vigils, the Arraial de Nazaré, the Musical Círio and the descent of the Imagem do Achado, from Glória to the Altar of the Basilica Santuário, where it remains during the fifteen days of the festival for visitation.

The city of Belém originated from the village Feliz Luzitânia, founded on January 12, 1616 by Francisco Caldeira Castelo Branco. The town at the time had a wooden fortification called Forte do Castelo do Senhor Santo Cristo, or simply Forte do Castelo. Located on the tip of Mairi on the right bank of the mouth of the Guamá River with Guajará Bay and next to the Ver-o-Peso market, Forte do Castelo was the first construction in Belém and is a well-known tourist attraction in the city. Throughout history, in addition to being a military fortification, it has been used as a hospital, restaurant and warehouse. Today it houses the Forte do Presépio Museum, whose collection includes prehistoric lithic and ceramic artifacts, in addition to material culture from excavations at the historic site itself and its surroundings, as well as artifacts and iconography from contemporary indigenous groups.

The Ver-o-Peso market is an open-air market located on the banks of the Guajará River, between Estação das Docas and Forte do Castelo. It is a tourist, cultural and economic point in the city of Belém. Initially the Mercado do Ver-o-Peso was preceded by the house of Haver o Peso, a checkpoint for the collection of taxes on products extracted from the Amazon forest, drugs from sertão, which were exported to Europe and the rest of Brazil. In 1901, the Iron Market was opened, which together with the surrounding street market, which received renovations in 1985, 1998 and 2002, form the Ver-o-Peso market.

Belém has a wide variety of typical foods, including duck in tucupi; maniçoba, also known as feijoada from Pará and made with crushed cassava leaves that need to be cooked for days; tacacá, a dish prepared with tucupi, jambú and shrimp and vatapá, unlike the Bahian version, does not contain cashew nuts or peanuts and is prepared with shrimp-based cream, wheat flour, coconut milk, palm oil, chicory, seasoning green and salt; Northeastern dishes such as caruru and cassava cake are also present. As notable ingredients we have freshwater fish; crab and acai, which in addition to being consumed as a dessert, as in other regions of the country, is also usually served as an accompaniment to savory dishes, such as fish and meat.

The City of Belém