Tourism Packages

Belo Horizonte

Belo Horizonte exports and imports culture. Artists from around the world visit the state capital.

Belo Horizonte exports and imports culture. Artists from around the world visit the state capital, which performs throughout the year a large number of international festivals, especially the theater, the dance and the gastronomy. This wealth’s manifest transformed the city in the new cultural center of Brazil, combined with a bustling nightlife and natural propensity for business. The huge vocation for commerce and services is also reflected in the culture. The Craft Fair (Feira Hippie) that takes place on Sunday’s mornings on Afonso Pena Avenue, downtown, is the largest open space fair of its kind in Latin America. It has more than three thousand exhibitors, with approximately 50,000 visitors per week and generating more than 18,000 jobs. The tourist at the fair has a true meeting with crafts and typical cuisine, expressions of the cultural wealth found in the state.

Belo Horizonte has an infrastructure of 36 theaters, 54 cinemas and more than 30 art galleries. In addition, 18 museums recount the life of the state capital and the state of Minas Gerais, exposing objects that really matter to the national historiography. The parks, besides providing contact with nature, are a great option for those who enjoy music, theater and art. The city hall has performed concerts at City Park (Parque Municipal), Mangabeiras Park and at Liberty Square (Praça da Liberdade) where there are days set aside for the presentation of corals. Belo Horizonte also has the Inhotim Museum where national and international artists hold permanent exhibitions. Finally, knowledge and fresh air are good for health!

 

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Historic Cities Near Belo Horizonte

Ouro Preto

Name origin and meaning:

The name Ouro Preto was adopted in May 20, 1823, when the old Vila Rica was denominated as a city. “Ouro Preto (Black Gold)” comes from the dark gold, covered with a layer of oxide iron found in the city. The first name of the city was Villa Rica. Then it was Vila Rica de Albuquerque, because of Antonio de Albuquerque Coelho Carvalho General Captain, the governor of the captaincy of Minas Gerais State and São Paulo State at this time. It was Dom João V who had removed the “Albuquerque” of the name, and adopted the “Vila Rica de Nossa Senhora do Pilar”, to honorits patron saint.

City Presentation:

Ouro Preto is the city with the largest homogeneous set of Baroque architecture in Brazil, Ouro Preto is a jewel nestled in the mountains of Minas Gerais. At the height of the gold cycle, was built by slaves and artists, inspired by European models, creating a distinctive national style. With the decline of gold, mining activity in the late 18th century, the city changed its main features: from high economic mining center to administrative seat of government.

If to the city’s economy these were big changes, its historical heritage thanks to the distance from the modernization of the 20th century. In 1938, the poet Manuel Bandeira wrote: “One can not say that Ouro Preto is a dead city. (…) Ouro Preto is a city that has not changed, and therein lies its unique charm.” That same year the town was declared as a National Heritage, by a national movement to protect cultural memory that began with the members of the modernist movement, even in the 1920’s, and culminated in the creation of National Historical Department and Artistic Heritage in 1937. In 1933, Ouro Preto was considered “National Monument” and in 1980 received the international recognition: the city was declared by UNESCO as World Cultural Heritage.

From the visit of the poet Manuel Bandeira much has changed today. Some changes were inevitable, due to the natural development that the city got. However, these changes did not alter the main feature of the city: the impossibility of passing through the city without experiencing the thrill of a trip back in time, a return to the past.

Finally, Ouro Preto is a very interesting and beautiful city. Besides having Baroque architecture found in religious monuments, fountains, churches, museums, townhouses, bridges and streets you can also find natural wonders like waterfalls, ecological parks and observatories. In other words Ouro Preto is an unforgettable city.

Mariana

The origin of the city dates back to the late seventeenth century, a time when pioneers from São Paulo State called “Bandeirantes” arrived at the region in search of gold. Mariana designation came later, in honor of the Queen Maria Anna of Austria, wife of King John V. On April 8 in 1711 the governor Antonio de Albuquerque created the village of Ribeirão do Carmo, the town of Nossa Senhora do Ribeirão do Carmo, confirmed by Royal Charter on April, 14 in 1712, the name changed to Nossa Senhora do Ribeirão do Carmo of Vila Real. The name changed again on April 23 in 1745 to Mariana Town, honor of King John V of Portugal, D. Mary Anne of Austria, his wife.

The governor, in a ceremony, chose the public square, at its center the “Pelourinho”, a symbol of newly acquired self-administration. In the following days, the “good men” full of money and women gathered for the election of the Chamber and the appointment of various municipal officials. In the Carmo case, it was named the village that had a stronger growth, the Cima Village. The description of the ceremony not only stipulated that the inhabitants, but that now entire dependent on the jurisdiction of the new district, would take care of building up the Church, the Assembly and the prison. It was the first village and later the first city in Minas Gerais. Mariana is part of Minas Gerais State birth, because it was his first town, city and capital.

The city has many sights, the main ones being: Minas Gerais Square, where there are three historical monuments, the old Town Hall and Jail, the São Francisco de Assis Church and the Nossa Senhora do Carmo Church.

Mariana also has:

- Sé Cathedral, one of the largest churches in the city and the most important, located at Cathedral Square, the city’s main square and also a tourist spot.
- Archdiocesan Museum of Sacred Art – working in the most beautiful building of Mariana and has one of the richest collections of sacred art in Brazil.
- Mariana Music Museum – work in Dom Frei Manuel da Cruz Cultural Center (former Bishops’ Palace). The only museum of its kind in America, having in its collection: documents, sheet music, prints of the eighteenth to the twentieth centuries, and a permanent exhibition in which visitors not only see but feel the music.
- Cúria Building – Mariana Archdiocese.
- Direita Street, where you can find the oldest houses in the city, with its preserved architecture.
- Old Seminary, now the campus of the ICHS (UFOP unit).
- São José Major Seminary – beautiful building in neoclassical style, with tiles and paintings on the title made Pietro Gentili Nobäuer and the chapel and halls.
- Nossa Senhora do Rosário dos Pretos Church (Mariana).
- Santo Antônio Church, the oldest of the city.
- São Pedro dos Clérigos Church (Mariana), with its beautiful architecture.
- Nossa Senhora da Glória Matrix Churcha in Passagem de Mariana.
- Passagem Mines, very important for the city’s economy in the gold cycle. Currently open to visitors.
- And Mária Fumaça (Mary Smoke), Vale do Rio Doce mining train, which was a partnership project with Vale do Rio Doce and the City Halls of Mariana and Ouro Preto. The tourist train, which resumed operations in April 2006, is making a great success, attracting tourists from across the country. Mariana Railway Station was completely renovated and today is also a tourist spot, and also works as a library and media to the population.

The city has the first sewage treatment plan, today it is off. It is also considered the first planned city in the state of Minas Gerais and one of the first in Brazil.
The city also has several waterfalls, such as the Brumado Waterfall (district of the same name), Serrrinha Waterfall (in Passagem de Mariana), Cristal Waterfall, Prainha Waterfall (in Santo Antonio), among others.

Tiradentes

History:

The gold discovered by João Siqueira Afonso in 1702, at the place called “Ponta do Morro” attracted a large number of people interested in exploration, erected a chapel and formed a camp that became known as Santo Antônio da Ponta do Morro.
Tiradentes was one of the cities that had more gold surface in Brazil, and thanks to this abundance, the camp developed, being raised in 1718, to the category of São José del Rei Village, winning the architectural configuration that remains today.
The decay of the metal does not prevent the Portuguese Crown to launch the spill, requiring the compulsory payment of arrears of the fifth gold. This oppressive attitude of the metropolis gives rise to a revolutionary feeling, which became known as Inconfidência Mineira (Minas Conspiracy).

On December 6 in 1889, with the appreciation of the figure of Lieutenant, the Republican government, decides to change the name of the city to Tiradentes, honoring the illustrious son, born in 1746 at Pombal ranch, on the right side of Morte river. In 1938, not only the city but throughout its surrounding landscape is listed by IPHAN and today Tiradentes is proud of its tourist potential and is considered one of the most important tourism centers in Brazil.

Tiradentes does not have the baroque magnificence of Ouro Preto and São João Del Rei, but it is certainly the most charming of historic cities. In its colonial streets paved with Pé de Moleque Stone (a typical stone of the region), churches from 18th century share the attention with the preserved townhouse formed by old houses in which we have restaurants, inns, antique and craft shops that light their lanterns in the frontage at dusk. The lovely setting that has served as a location for films, serials and dramas, still displays an imposing frame – the São José mountain range, with typical mountains of Minas Gerais.

The chariots parked at Forras’ Street, invite people to go around town with the right to stop at major attractions such as the São José Fountain, Padre Toledo Museum, Nossa Senhora do Rosário dos Pretos and Nossa Senhora das Mercês churches and Santo Antonio Matrix Church, the most beautiful works of Tiradentes attributed to Aleijadinho.

Along the walk, learn about workshops that spread through the Direita and Câmara streets is a mandatory program. Draws attention the creativity of artisans, that manufacture their works, with materials ranging from wood to tin, through the mache paper to iron. The assorted and well done crafts are also found in Bichinho district, six miles from the center and filled with workshops.

Cool, Tiradentes comes every day, no longer a merely historical destiny to become a cultural center – nearly ten years ago it has been the backdrop for crowded events like the Film, Culture and Cuisine Festival. The good food, incidentally, is one of the hallmarks of the city. The food from Minas Gerais State is served with abundance in the restaurants, which take great pride in traditional recipes and increase the recipes with ingredients like ora-pro-nóbis, a type of leaf that gives a very special taste to the chicken and angu (made by corn meal). To spend energy, make a trek to the top of the mountain – four hours of walking with beautiful landscapes at 1,400 meters high.