Meireles is the heart of tourist Fortaleza: a broad beach lined with kiosks, a palm-shaded seafront promenade (the Avenida Beira Mar), luxury hotels, and the famous Feira de Artesanato do Meireles, a craft and food market that runs every evening along the waterfront. The market is a good place to buy Ceará's distinctive crafts — especially the lacework (renda de bilro), hand-printed hammocks, and leather goods.
The beach itself is the best-maintained of the city's urban beaches: the water is cleaner than Iracema and the infrastructure (changing rooms, seafood barracas, beach sports equipment) is well organised. The neighbourhood behind the beach, particularly around Rua dos Pacajus, has many of Fortaleza's better restaurants and bars. In the evening the promenade fills with joggers, cyclists, and families watching the local volleyball and footvolley matches on the sand.