Natal: the fort at the mouth of the Potengi

Founded on Christmas Day 1599, the city takes its name from that day and preserves at the mouth of the Potengi River the fort that marked its founding.

The city's various zones, rather spread out, require a car or taxi.

Star-shaped, the Fort of the Three Kings from 1598 is the oldest structure in Natal and stands right where the Potengi river meets the Atlantic Ocean.

Not far away, the profile of the Newton Navarro Bridge, a cable-stayed bridge inaugurated in 2007, has become the new symbol of the city's skyline.

Moving toward the center, one enters the Dunes Park, one of the most extensive urban forest reserves in Brazil, grown on a system of coastal dunes in the heart of the city.

Toward evening, it is worthwhile to reach the Genipabu Dunes, north of the city, for a drive among the highest dunes in the region.

The city's name, which in Portuguese simply means 'Christmas', lends every postcard sent from here in December a double meaning that travelers almost always discover by chance.

On the dunes of Genipabu, off-road vehicles tackle slopes that from a distance look nearly vertical: an attraction that has made the village name known far beyond the state's boundaries.