It has been exactly 407 years since the City of Natal started to be built on the left edge and in the estuary of the river Potengi. It was already a grand beginning, with the construction of the Fort Dos Reis Magos, raised to defend the new lands of the Portuguese, coveted by the foreign explorers. Today the Fort has become the symbol of the city and is a reference to the tourism of the city. During much time it was only a village and in the 19th Century (XIX) it only had started to acquire airs of a city of average size. With the consolidation of the Republic, at the beginning of the 20th Century (XX), its government started to invest in the public, cultural and educational structure, becoming the seat of local government, theater, schools landscaped squares and they had adopted a plan of urbanization for the new quarters (bairros) that started appearing, beyond lands of the 'xarias' and 'canguleiros', as its inhabitants were divided.

Its birthday party happens on the 25 of December. The capital of the State of the Rio Grande do Norte, besides its natural beauty, presents some characteristics that make it one of most important and preferred tourist destinations in Brazil. It is known as the City of the Sun, for the pleasant tropical climate, with an average temperature of 26 degrees, that is also the same as the waters of its beaches.

Beyond being bathed by the Atlantic ocean, Natal is cut by the river Potengi, on the right edge being the center and the older quarters as Ribeira, Petrópolis, Tirol, Alecrim, Quintas and Rocas and on the left the new quarters 'bairros', which form the majority of the residential areas.

Although it was only a small village, Natal already considered a city and during the 21 years (1633 to 1654) it received its first group of tourists, when it was occupied by the Dutch, who had invaded a great part of our coast and started to call the small village, to the edges of the Potengi, New Amsterdam.

Its growth during the 18th and 19th centuries was very slow. Natal changed and lost its villager air with the World War II. On the 7th of July, 1941, the city that had less than 50 thousand inhabitants was chosen to host a North American air base. This international decision was fundamental for the victory of the allies. After all, we are the point closest to Dakar, in Africa, which allowed an aerial raid, considered strategically necessary to arrive in Europe. (And North Africa)

At that time the city started to coexist with more than 10 thousand North Americans, modernizing its habits and modifying totally the life style that, until today, differentiates it from other cities in the northeast.

In its streets, mainly in the Ribeira quarter, men using shorts was common with shirts worn outside of the pants and the women dressing in long pants. The coca-cola and chicletes also made the difference.

The river Potengi was changed into landing area for seaplanes and the air base at Parnamirim, where the airport is situated today, received warplanes night and day and was known as the Springboard of the Victory. (Trampolim da Vitória)

With the end of the war, the Americans left, but they had left a different culture to the natalense, that has kept until today. An example is the open and cordial way that the city receives its tourists.

Discovering its true vocation, tourism, Natal really is the proper City of the Sun and has developed a solid infrastructure to be able to offer what it has better. All this change has little more than 20 years, and now it is considered as one of the three most preferred destinations in the northeast.

A seaside hotel complex is located on the Via Costeira, which links the beaches of Areia Preta to Ponta Negra bordering the Park of Dunes, allowing to the visitor a calm and reserved stay.

In Ponta Negra, small and cozy hotels and charming inns (pousadas), restaurants, bars and night clubs (boates) make the beach essentially a tourist region, with a boardwalk (calçadão) six kilometers long, where one finds people of all colors and nationalities.

Already the international airport makes possible landings of large aircraft, with security and comfort for the passengers. All the air carriers offer daily flights to Natal.

The beaches, such as Genipabu, Gostoso, Maracajaú, Pirangi or Pipa are reached on asphalted highways. Main roads allow access to various tourist attractions in the interior, such as the thermal waters of Mossoró, the peak of Cabugi and to the caves of Lajedo Soledade.

For those who want to know the city more intimately, in terms of culture, art and religion, the attractions are the Museum of Sacra Art (Museu de Arte Sacra), the Rock of the Rosary (Pedra do Rosário), the Museum Câmara Cascudo, the churches Igreja do Galo and the Pretos do Rosário, the Coluna Capitolina and the Museum of the Sea (Museu do Mar). Also a visit to the Fort Dos Reis Magos is important, which gave to origin of the city and where one finds the first symbol of the arrival of the Portuguese Settling in Brazil, the Landmark of the Ownership (Marco da Posse).

Still there are the house of folklore shows (folclóricos), such as the NIS - Terra Natal, that show our traditions centered in the festivals (alegorias) of the Bumba Meu Boi, the Fandango, the Lapinha, the Maculelê, the Coco de Roda and in the afro-Brazilian dances.

The handicrafts (artesanato) also deserve special attention, mainly for the 'rendas' and embroidering and the labyrinths weaving in the famous cushions of 'bilros'. The natalense cooking-culinary (culinária) is based on sea-foods and sun dried meat (carne-de-sol). The bars and restaurants are always ready to offer a varied menu (cardápio) based of shrimp, lobster, crab, oyster and fish or the typical regional foods, as the sun dried meat (carne de sol) accompanied by green beans(feijão verde), farofa of bolão, macaxeira and butter of the sertão.

Natal is always a party, but its biggest party happens in December. Everything starts with Carnatal; the off-season carnival, carried through in the first few days of the month, and to finish with festas of Christmas and New Years and the homages and procession Dos Santos Reis Magos, on the 6th of January.