Vila Velha is a coastal town in Espirito Santo, Brazil. It lies across from Vitoria, the state capital. Its population is 396,323 (2005) and its area 208.82 km². Vila Velha forms part of the Greater Vitoria metropolitan area. To the north is Vitoria, to the west Cariacica and Viana, to the south Guarapari, and to the east the Atlantic Ocean.

Amongst the notable corporations in Vila Velha we may find Garoto, one of Brazil's largest chocolate manufacturers. Vila Velha used to have one of the best coastal areas of Espirito Santo. Unfortunatelly, due to intense real estate development, its mains beaches, like Praia da Costa, Itapua and Itaparica were virtually destroyed by a wall of high buildings. That massive skyline casts a shadow on those beaches during the afternoon hours.

Vila Velha is the oldest township in Espirito Santo, having been founded on the 23rd of May, 1535. First called Vila do Espirito Santo, it was founded by Vasco Fernandes Coutinho and was then the capital of Espirito Santo. Coutinho, owner of the Espirito Santo colony, had to go back to Portugal around 1550 to try and find more colonists, for there were too few. On coming back there had been problems keeping order amongst the colonists, slaves, and Indians, which had forced most inhabitants to flee to the island of Vitoria, which Coutinho made into the capital upon his return. Afterward, Vila Velha remained a quiet village until quite recently: in the census of 1828, there were only 1250 people in the village. Today, Vila Velha is the biggest city in all the state, with about 500 thousand inhabitants.