The historic centre of Paranaguá sits between the waterfront and a low rise of streets stepping inland. Founded in 1648, it is one of the oldest Portuguese settlements in southern Brazil, and the colonial street grid is still intact: narrow stone-paved lanes lined with low pastel-coloured houses, the occasional palm tree leaning over a wall, and the towers of half a dozen 18th-century churches breaking the skyline.
The compact area can be walked in an afternoon. Rua XV de Novembro is the main artery, running parallel to the river and lined with restored merchant houses now occupied by shops, cafés and small museums. The Casa do Conselheiro Sinimbu and the old Câmara Municipal are worth a look from the outside. The state has put a number of buildings under heritage protection, but funding is patchy and many fine façades are crumbling — part of the city's faded, lived-in charm.