João Pessoa: where the sun rises first over the Americas

The Historic Center of João Pessoa, among Brazil's oldest cities founded in 1585, preserves colonial and Art Deco facades along its principal streets.

Just steps away, the Estação Cabo Branco, a curved white building signed by Oscar Niemeyer, hosts spaces dedicated to science, culture and art overlooking the ocean.

Continuing along the coast, you reach Ponta do Seixas, the most easterly point of the Americas, where a monument marks the first place on the continent to see the sun rise each day.

Toward evening, Praia de Tambaú, the main city beach, closes the day among bars on the sand and sunset over the Atlantic.

Being the easternmost point of the continent, Ponta do Seixas sees the sun rise a few minutes before anywhere else in the Americas, a geographic distinction few visitors know before arriving in the city.

Niemeyer's building at the Estação Cabo Branco was among the architect's last projects completed while still alive, finished when he was already over one hundred years old.