Things to do in Recife during the weekends

Sorry but other than the beach or mall, there's hardly anything to do. On sunday there is bike route from Boa Viagem to Recife antigo where they close down several roads but since it's rainy season, everything gets flooded. There is also a street fair on sunday nights in recife antigo but be careful and leave your purse and wallet at home. It get's crowded and anyone can grab something from your purse without you noticing. I recommend taking cash.

Taking a stroll in Olinda is usually fun during the day (check out Bodega do Veio on Saturday). The street fest in Recife Antigo has never been a problem for me and usually there are interesting things to see. Usually there are a variety of concerts you can see on the weekend as well depending on the weekend. Oficina Brennand is also interesting (open 10-4 on Saturday and Sunday) and the lunch there is fantastic!

I don't subscribe to the idea that the boring mall or the beach are the only things to do. I've had no problems here. Taking normal precautions for any large city, you're bound to find something fun to do. Enjoy the bright sides of the culture of this city! I think I generally do more than some of my native co-workers here either because they don't want to, they don't look, or some subscribe to the idea that it's really dangerous (danger here has diminished dramatically in the last 15 years).

Cheers and have fun!

Jota
Hey, I am returning to Recife for up to 8 months the end of the year
When I was there the end of 2014 things were very safe and calm
With all this political stress going on,  how safe do you feel there ??
Anything happened to you or your friends ?
Guy

I've heard more reports of assaults but I've never seen anything myself. This has been more of a factor of economic issues than political stress really. It's not too hard to avoid political protests (actually you should sign up for the US Dept of State's STEP program to get alerts and then you'll know). But, I am pretty careful about when and where I take the bus vs. taking a taxi or an Uber. I also dress down (usually wear shorts and a t-shirt and don't have a watch or flash my phone around). In the end, like any big city, be smart about what you wear and how you act and I think you should generally be OK.

Hopefully that makes sense.

Have always dressed like a poor gringo in Brasil ; sandals, shorts and a tshirt and never had any problems, but that was when things were pretty calm
Worst thing that happened to me - I've been addresses as Alemao many times
because of my redish beard

I will say that way back in 2007 there were cops on every block of Boa Viagem but in 2014 you could not find one ,  crime had been mostly eliminated

From what I understand, conditions are still much better than they were in 2007. You've got the right strategy.